Scottus News

Supreme Court Unanimous ruling On Monday, people convicted of certain low-level cocaine crimes were not eligible for a reduced sentence under the First Step Act, a 2018 law that makes some criminal justice reforms retroactive.Justice Clarence Thomas wrote an opinion for the court Terry v. United States.

In 2008, Tarahrick Terry was arrested in Florida for carrying less than 4 grams of cocaine. At the time, federal laws dealt with illegal acts involving cocaine more severely than illegal acts involving powdered cocaine.This Related Laws Three layers were created. Level 1 imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for crimes involving at least 50 grams of cracks or 5 kilograms of powder. For violations involving at least 5 grams of cracks or 500 grams of powder, Level 2 provides a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years. Tier 3 penalties involve unspecified amounts of cocaine and do not include mandatory minimum crimes. Terry was convicted at level 3 and sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.

Two years later, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced the sentencing difference between cocaine and cocaine fans. In 2018, Congress passed the First Step Act, which makes certain provisions of the Fair Sentence Act retroactive and allows some people convicted under the old system to seek a reduced sentence.

Terry argued that under the First Step Act, he has the right to seek a reduction of his sentence. The Supreme Court disagreed. Thomas wrote that although Tier 1 and Tier 2 are “covered crimes” under the “First Step Act,” Tier 3 crimes are not included. This is because the “First Step Act” defines “covered crimes” as “violations of federal criminal regulations, and the statutory penalties are modified by the Fair Sentencing Act.” The Fair Sentencing Act changed the amount of cocaine required to trigger Tier 1 and Tier 2, but kept the language of Tier 3 unchanged. Thomas wrote that Terry’s level 3 conviction was not eligible for re-sentence due to the “clear text” of the statute.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a consent letter, calling on Congress to pass a new law that will provide an opportunity for people convicted of a third-level sentence to be commuted.She pointed out that bipartisan supporters of the First Step Act have already urge The court interprets the law and provides extensive retrospective relief to Terry and hundreds of similar prisoners who may be convicted of low-level crimes. “Unfortunately,” Sotomayor wrote, “the text cannot withstand such reading. Fortunately, Congress has many tools to correct this injustice.”

Check back soon for an in-depth analysis of opinions.