Skip navigation
Criminal Legal News

Search

More search options »
50 results
SCOTUS Announces Sentence ‘Has Not Been Imposed’ 
for Purposes of First Step Act Retroactivity Upon Resentencing When § 924(c) Offender Sentenced Prior to Act’s Enactment 
but Sentence Subsequently Va...
Article • August 1, 2025 • from CLN August, 2025
Filed under: Retroactivity, First Step Act, Resentencing, Recidivist Enhancements, Stacking Mandatory Minimum Sentences
SCOTUS Announces Sentence ‘Has Not Been Imposed’ for Purposes of First Step Act Retroactivity Upon Resentencing When § 924(c) Offender Sentenced Prior to Act’s Enactment but Sentence Subsequently Vacated by Richard Resch The Supreme Court of the United States held that when an offender convicted under § 924(c) had been sentenced …
First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners
Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025
Filed under: First Step Act, Resentencing, Credits
First Step Act Linked to Modest Reductions in Time Served by Federal Prisoners by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott The First Step Act (“FSA”), enacted in 2018, aimed to reduce recidivism and reform federal sentencing practices. A recent report by the Council on Criminal Justice (“CCJ”) showed modest …
Fourth Circuit Announces ‘Sentencing Package Doctrine’ Permits District Court to Resentence Both Covered and Noncovered Offenses Under First Step Act
Article • July 15, 2024 • from CLN July, 2024
Filed under: First Step Act, Resentencing, De Novo Resentencing
Fourth Circuit Announces ‘Sentencing Package Doctrine’ Permits District Court to Resentence Both Covered and Noncovered Offenses Under First Step Act by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that District Courts have discretion to reduce sentences for both covered and noncovered offenses …
New Data From BOP Reveals Technical Violations Account for Nearly a Third of First Step Act Recidivism
Article • May 15, 2024 • from CLN May, 2024
Filed under: Crime, Statistics/Trends, First Step Act, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Revocation Proceedings
New Data From BOP Reveals Technical Violations Account for Nearly a Third of First Step Act Recidivism by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott The Council on Criminal Justice (“CCJ”) released a December 2023 update to its original report (August 2023) on the impact of the First Step Act …
Time Served Under the First Step Act: Reduction, Not Revolution
Article • April 15, 2024 • from CLN April, 2024
Filed under: Statistics/Trends, First Step Act
Time Served Under the First Step Act: Reduction, Not Revolution by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Knott The First Step Act (“FSA”), a 2018 law designed to curb recidivism among formerly incarcerated individuals on the federal level, is showing modest but positive results in reducing the amount of time …
Preliminary Analysis of Recidivism Data After Three Years Under First Step Act Is Promising but Inconclusive
Article • March 15, 2024 • from CLN March, 2024
Filed under: First Step Act
Preliminary Analysis of Recidivism Data After Three Years Under First Step Act Is Promising but Inconclusive by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott The First Step Act (“FSA”) is a bipartisan criminal justice bill passed in 2018 to reform federal prisons and sentencing laws to reduce reoffending, decrease the …
Federal Sentencing Guidelines Undergo Substantial Amendments
Article • January 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2024
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Violence Against Women Act, Criminal History, Qualifying Offenses, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Sexual Abuse/Harrassment/Exploitation, Sexual Exploitation of Minors, Federally Protected Rights, Sexual Conduct with Minors, Sentences - Authorized, Safety Valve, Acceptance of Responsibility, Preservation of Judicial Resources, Legal or Factual Challenges - assertion of
Federal Sentencing Guidelines Undergo Substantial Amendments by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The United States Sentencing Commission (“Commission”) adopted nine amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”) that became effective on November 1, 2023. It’s the first action by the Commission since it lost a quorum in early 2019. …
Fourth Circuit: Disparate Sentence of 30 Years for Two § 924(c) Convictions Constitutes ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reason’ for Early Release and § 3553(a) Sentencing Factors ‘Overwhelmingly’ Favor ...
Article • December 15, 2023 • from CLN December, 2023
Filed under: COVID-19, First Step Act, Compassionate Release
Fourth Circuit: Disparate Sentence of 30 Years for Two § 924(c) Convictions Constitutes ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reason’ for Early Release and § 3553(a) Sentencing Factors ‘Overwhelmingly’ Favor Sentence Reduction by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that Kelvin Brown’s disparate sentence …
Fourth Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Where Record Unclear Whether District Court Considered All Nonfrivolous Arguments Raised by Defendant
Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023
Filed under: First Step Act, Policy Considerations, Reduction of Sentence
Fourth Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Where Record Unclear Whether District Court Considered All Nonfrivolous Arguments Raised by Defendant by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated the denial of a motion seeking a sentence reduction under § 404(b) of …
Third Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Because District Court’s Failure to Expressly Identify Which § 841(b) Provision Supported Sentence Precludes Appellate Review
Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023
Filed under: First Step Act, Procedural Default/Error, Resentencing
Third Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Because District Court’s Failure to Expressly Identify Which § 841(b) Provision Supported Sentence Precludes Appellate Review by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of …
Fourth Circuit Holds Ineligibility for First Step Act Safety Valve Relief Requires Proof of All Three Listed Criminal History Characteristics Satisfied, Widening Circuit Split
Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023
Filed under: First Step Act, Guideline Amendment/Variances and Retroactivity
Fourth Circuit Holds Ineligibility for First Step Act Safety Valve Relief Requires Proof of All Three Listed Criminal History Characteristics Satisfied, Widening Circuit Split by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the plain text of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1) …
Op-Ed: Fix the First Step Act and Let Reformed Prisoners Out From Behind Bars – Time Credits and the Irrebuttable Presumption Doctrine
Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023
Filed under: Rehabilitation/Recidivism, First Step Act
Op-Ed: Fix the First Step Act and Let Reformed Prisoners Out From Behind Bars – Time Credits and the Irrebuttable Presumption Doctrine by Christopher Cobb by Christopher D. Cobb I am a federal prisoner housed at theFederal Satellite Low located in Jesup (“Jesup”), Georgia, and a subscriber to both PLN …
Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant Must Satisfy All Three Subsections of § 3553(f)(1) to Be Ineligible for Safety Valve
Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Guideline Amendment/Variances and Retroactivity
Eleventh Circuit Announces Defendant Must Satisfy All Three Subsections of § 3553(f)(1) to Be Ineligible for Safety Valve by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, sitting en banc, held that a defendant must satisfy all three subsections of the First Step Act, …
Seventh Circuit: District Court’s Failure to Address Nonfrivolous Argument Raised in First Step Act Motion Constitutes Procedural Error in Violation of Concepcion
Article • April 15, 2023 • from CLN May, 2023
Filed under: Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), First Step Act, Procedural Default/Error
Seventh Circuit: District Court’s Failure to Address Nonfrivolous Argument Raised in First Step Act Motion Constitutes Procedural Error in Violation of Concepcion by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that when deciding a motion for a sentence reduction under § 404 …
Attorney General Garland Orders Federal Prosecutors to End Sentencing Disparities Between Crack and Powder Cocaine
Article • February 15, 2023 • from CLN March, 2023
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Crack v. Powdered Cocaine
Attorney General Garland Orders Federal Prosecutors to End Sentencing Disparities Between Crack and Powder Cocaine by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On December 16, 2022, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum to all federal prosecutors instructing them to seek to have defendants charged with drug offenses involving crack …
Tenth Circuit: Prisoner Convicted of Covered Drug Offense but Sentenced to Mandatory Life Sentence Via Cross Reference for Murder Under Pre-Booker Guidelines Has Standing to Request First Step Act Sen...
Article • January 15, 2023 • from CLN February, 2023
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, First Step Act, Reasonableness of Sentence, Drug Laws/Offenses
Tenth Circuit: Prisoner Convicted of Covered Drug Offense but Sentenced to Mandatory Life Sentence Via Cross Reference for Murder Under Pre-Booker Guidelines Has Standing to Request First Step Act Sentence Reduction by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a prisoner …
Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts May Consider First Step Act’s Non-Retroactive Changes to Sentencing Law When Deciding Motion for Compassionate Release
Article • December 15, 2022 • from CLN January, 2023
Filed under: First Step Act, Compassionate Release
Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts May Consider First Step Act’s Non-Retroactive Changes to Sentencing Law When Deciding Motion for Compassionate Release by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney On an issue upon which the circuits are split, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that district courts may …
Third Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Reasonable Opportunity to File Sentencing Memo Before Resentencing Under First Step Act
Article • December 15, 2022 • from CLN January, 2023
Filed under: First Step Act, Resentencing
Third Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Reasonable Opportunity to File Sentencing Memo Before Resentencing Under First Step Act by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that when a prisoner seeks resentencing under the First Step Act, a district court has discretion …
Fourth Circuit Announces Substantive Reasonableness Review Applies to All Proceedings Under § 404 of First Step Act, Regardless of Whether Motion Is Granted or Denied
Article • December 15, 2022 • from CLN January, 2023
Filed under: First Step Act, Reasonableness of Sentence
Fourth Circuit Announces Substantive Reasonableness Review Applies to All Proceedings Under § 404 of First Step Act, Regardless of Whether Motion Is Granted or Denied by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that substantive reasonableness review applies to all proceedings under …
First Circuit Announces Courts May Consider First Step Act’s Non-Retroactive Changes to Sentencing Law in Determining Whether ‘Extraordinary and Compelling’ Reason Exists for Compassionate Release in ...
Article • November 15, 2022 • from CLN December, 2022
Filed under: First Step Act, Compassionate Release
First Circuit Announces Courts May Consider First Step Act’s Non-Retroactive Changes to Sentencing Law in Determining Whether ‘Extraordinary and Compelling’ Reason Exists for Compassionate Release in Prisoner-Initiated Motion by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett In a case of first impression in the circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the …
Page 1 of 3. | 1 2 3 | Next »