National Weekly Call: November 5, 2-2:30pm EST

Posted on by Jenny

Center for Prison Reform National Call Agenda

 

Wednesday, November 5, 2014 – 2 – 2:30 PM EST

Call-In Number:  (605) 562-3140

Participant code: 408388#

(Note: The call-in number will be the same every week, at the same time)

 

Next call: Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 2 – 2:30PM EST

 

 

Executive Summary

 

We will have a call every Wednesday at 2 PM EST regarding the Center for Prison Reform (CPR).  CPR is a non-profit coalition organized to promote rehabilitation for those that are incarcerated.  We are particularly focused on legislation that is in the Senate and sponsored by Senators Cornyn, Whitehouse, and Portman. It has passed the Judiciary Committee. We have much work to do in the House of Representatives and also the US Senate in order to ensure this legislation reaches the President’s desk by the end of this calendar year. We are also interested in the Smarter Sentencing Act and other legislation with substantive evidence based reforms.

 

S.1690/HR.3465 – Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013

 

We have identified 500 more organizations within the Congressional Districts that require more support from their Representatives — and 700 more organizations across the nation – and are encouraging them to join our cause and sign our Endorsement Letter for the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013 (S. 1690 and H.R. 3465).

 

Please encourage your organization to sign our Endorsement Letter as well.

 

Also attached, please find the letter that is being circulated by Rep. Sensenbrenner.  The members of the House listed below are our targets to sign the letter and possibly cosponsor the Second Chance Reauthorization Act. If you have any relationships with these offices, please do contact them.  Also, please ask members in your organization in these districts to reach out to the targeted members, urging them to cosponsor the legislation and to sign Rep. Sensenbrenner’s letter :

 

House Judiciary Committee Members:

  • Rep. Blake Farenthold (TX-27)

o    Major Counties: Bastrop, Caldwell, Gonzales, Lavaca, Wharton, Matagorda, Jackson, Victoria, Calhoun, Refugio, Aransas, San Patricio and Nueces

  • Rep. Ted Poe (TX-02)

o    Major Counties: Harris

  • Rep. Trey Gowdy (SC-04)

o    Major Counties: Greenville and Spartanburg

  • Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-04)

o    Major Counties: Allen, Auglaize, Shelby, Logan, Union, Champaign, Marion, Crawford, Senecca, Sandusky, Erie, Huron and Lorain

  • Rep. Jason Chaffetz (UT-03)

o    Major Counties: Daggett, Summit, Morgan, Utah, Wasatch, Duchesne, Uintah, Carbon, Grand, Emery, Sanpete, Sevier, Piute, Wayne, Garfield, San Juan and Kane

  • Rep. Tom Marino (PA-10)

o    Major Counties: Monroe, Pike, Lackawanna, Wayne, Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga, Sullivan, Lycoming, Union, Columbia, Snyder, Mifflin, Juniata and Perry

  • Rep. Randy Forbes (VA-04)

o    Major Counties: Chesapeake City, Isle of Wright, Sussex, Emporia City, Dinwiddie, Norroway, Amelia, Powhatan, Chestfield and Colonial Heights

  • Rep. Lamar Smith (TX-21)

o    Major Counties: Travis, Real, Kerr, Bandera, Gillespie, Blanco, Kendall and Comal

  • Rep. George Holding (NC-13)

o    Major Counties: Reckingham, Caswell, Person, Granville and Wake

 

House Republican Leadership:

  • Rep. John Boehner (OH-08), Speaker of the House

o    Major Counties: Darke, Miami, Clark, Preble and Butler

  • Rep. Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), Majority Leader

o    Major Counties: Kern and Tulare

  • Rep. Steve Scalise (LA-01), Majority Whip

o    Major Counties: St. Tammany, Orlean, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, Lafourche and Terrbonne

  • Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), Republican Conference Chairman

o    Major Counties: Pend Orelle, Stevens, Ferry, Lincoln, Spokane, Whitman, Asotin, Garfield, Whitman, Columbia and Walla Walla

  • Rep. James Lankford (OK-05), Republican Policy Committee Chairman

o    Major Counties: Oklahoma, Pottawatomie and Seminole

 

New Supporters and Signees of our Endorsement Letter

Yates – Supreme Court Trial

On Wednesday, November 05, 2014, at 10 am EST, the Supreme Court will hold one hour of argument in Yates v. United States, testing the sweep — or the narrowness — of a federal law that seeks to protect evidence of crime from being destroyed.

 

At issue in Yates v. United States is the “anti-shredding” provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which makes it a federal crime if one “knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object” with the intent to impede or obstruct a federal criminal investigation. John Yates was criminally prosecuted because he allegedly destroyed three fish that were too small to be caught legally. According to Mr. Yates, his prosecution was improper because he could not have had fair notice that a fish would be considered a “tangible object.”

 

The Federalist Society will be holding a teleforum call this week, on Wednesday, November 05, 2014, at 3:00 pm EST. The Dial in number is (888) 752-3232.

 

In the run-up to the Supreme Court’s hearing of oral arguments in U.S. v. Yates, Right on Crime, the nationally recognized conservative criminal justice reform organization, convened a briefing on over-criminalization and prosecutorial overreach, on October 30, 2014. For more information, please contact Kevin McVicker, at kmcvicker@sbpublicaffairs.com.

 

 

Coalition Building

 

Please list us as a resource on your website (www.centerforprisonreform.org)

 

If your organization or your allies want to participate in our coalition, please do so at www.centerforprisonreform.org/alliance

 

We need to quickly secure as many members as possible for this reform coalition. We should focus on faith-based groups, minority groups, rehabilitation service providers and professionals, family advocacy groups, suicide prevention groups, and so on.

 

Coalition Participants

  • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (www.afsp.org)

o   Trevor Summerfield – summerfield@afsp.org

  • Bella and Stella Foundation

o   Lloyd Rubin – rubin004@gmail.com

  • Human Rights Defense Center

o   Paul Wright – pwright@prisonlegalnews.org

o   Gabrielle de la Gueronniere – gdelagueronniere@lac-dc.org

  • National Health Care for the Homeless Council (www.nhchc.org)

o   Daniel Rabbitt – drabbitt@hchmd.org

o   Barbara DiPietro – bdipietro@nhchc.org

o   Marc Levin – mlevin@texaspolicy.com

o   S Tracy – stracy@texaspolicy.com

  • Safe Streets Arts Foundation (www.safestreetsarts.org)

o   Dennis Sobin – dennis@safestreetsarts.org

  • Taxpayer Protection Alliance (www.protectingtaxpayers.org)

o   David Williams – davidwilliams@protectingtaxpayers.org

 

Outreach Groups – interested in working with CPR

o   Jesselyn McCurdy – jmccurdy@aclu.org

  • American Constitution Society (www.ACSlaw.org) – contacted
  • Association of Prosecuting Attorneys
  • Brennan Center for Justice (www.brennancenter.org) – contacted
  • Catholic Family Center (http://www.cfcrochester.org/) – contacted
  • CATO Institute (www.cato.org) – contacted
  • Christian Reformed Church in North America – Edwina had a meeting
  • Coalition to Reduce Spending – contacted
  • Council of State and Local Governments (www.csg.org)
  • Crossroads Bible Institute – Edwina had meeting on 9/23
  • Drug Policy Alliance – Edwina had meeting on 9/23
  • Families Against Mandatory Minimums (www.famm.org)
  • Federal Cure (www.fedcure.org) – contacted
  • Heritage Action for America
  • The Heritage Foundation (SEPARATE from the Justice Fellowship) – Edwina has meeting
  • Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) – contacted
  • Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (www.jointcenter.org)
  • JustFaith Ministries (www.justfaith.org) – contacted
  • Justice Fellowship, at Heritage Foundation (www.heritage.org) – contacted
  • The Marshall Project (www.themarshallproject.org) – phone meeting 9/23
  • Massachusetts State Harm Reduction Coalition (www.massdecarcerate.org) – contacted
  • NAACP (www.naacp.org) – email sent to Hilary Shelton, Senior VP for Advocacy 8/4/14
  • National Association of Social Workers – phone meeting 9/23
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (www.nacdl.org) – phone meeting with Kyle O’Dowd on 9/23
  • National Cure (www.curenational.org)

o   Annelise Hafer – annelise@curenational.org

  • National Council of La Raza (www.nclr.org) – contacted
  • National Employment Law Project (www.nelp.org) – phone meeting 9/26
  • National Health Care for the Homeless Council – phone meeting 10/2
  • Open Society Justice Initiative (www.opensocietyfoundations.org) – contacted
  • OurTime (www.ourtime.org) – phone meeting 9/24
  • The Pew Charitable Trusts – Public Safety Performance Project – contacted
  • Prison Policy Initiative – phone meeting 9/25
  • Public Welfare Foundation – phone meeting 9/29
  • SEIU – meeting with Steve Hill on 10/3
  • The Sentencing Project (www.sentencingproject.org) – contacted
  • SF BayView (www.sfbayview.com) – contacted
  • State Prison Bureaus

o   Alaska Department of Corrections – contacted

o   Michigan Department of Corrections – contacted

o   New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services – contacted

  • Texas Public Policy Foundation – contacted
  • Vera Institute of Justice (www.vera.org)

 

 

Website

 

http://centerforprisonreform.org (website launched on Wednesday, July 16, 2014)

 

We are available to take coalition participants and allies from the website. There is a section for newsletters and national update call subscribers. Please check the website for latest information regarding the Cornyn-Whitehouse-Portman legislation and its progress and other reform legislation.

 

The Center for Prison Reform’s Newsletter is available at http://goo.gl/Pgvuih

Donate to Center for Prison Reform via PayPal or credit card http://centerforprisonreform.org/donate/

 

 

Social Media

 

We have secured sites and are posting to the following media: Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter.

Website: (https://www.centerforprisonreform.org)

Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/centerforprisonreform)

Twitter: (https://twitter.com/reformprison)

 

 

Further Resources

Please find attached a one page introduction of Center for Prison Reform that you can leave with legislators with whom you meet. (“CPR Intro”)

We have developed a one page document for Republicans (“Why Prison Reform?”).

 

Please find attached a Letter of Endorsement for your group or organization to approve.

Please find Dr. Nancy G. La’s (The Urban Institute) Statement to the House Judiciary Committee on July 15, 2014, at: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/904631-Lessons-from-the-States-Responsible-Prison-Reform.pdf

 

The Urban Institute’s Report – “Stemming the Tide: Strategies to Reduce the Growth and Cut the Cost of the Federal Prison System”: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412932-stemming-the-tide.pdf

 

The National Academy of Sciences has published a book entitled The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. Please find the summary of this study attached to this email. A downloadable version is available here: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=18613

 

The Congressional Budget Office reports that the Smarter Sentencing Act would save federal taxpayers $4.36 billion.

<http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/217725-cbo-drug-sentencing-reform-saves-4b>

<http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2014/09/congressional-budget-office-reports-smarter-sentencing-act-would-save-federal-taxpayers-436-billion.html>

 

We have attached an endorsement letter signed by over 500 organizations, for the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013 (S. 1690/ H.R. 3465) which aims to provide more resources to coordinate reentry services and policies at the state and local levels, ensuring that corrections programs do not simply fuel a revolving door in and out of prison:

 

Introduced in Senate (11/13/2013)

 

Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013 – Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise and expand requirements for the grant program for adult and juvenile offender state and local reentry demonstration projects and to extend the authorization for appropriations for such program through FY2018.

 

Amends the Second Chance Act of 2007 to extend through FY2018 the authorization of appropriations for grants for: (1) family-based substance abuse treatment, (2) the technology careers training demonstration program, and (3) the offender reentry substance abuse and criminal justice collaboration program. Renames the program of mentoring grants to nonprofit organizations for offender reentry as the program of community-based mentoring and transitional service grants to nonprofit organizations. Provides for enhanced services under such program to assist in the reintegration of offenders into the community. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such program through FY2018.

 

Requires the Inspector General of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to periodically conduct audits of not less than 5% of all recipients of specified offender reentry grants under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and the Second Chance Act of 2007.

 

Amends the Second Chance Act of 2007 to: (1) modify and extend through FY2018 grant programs for reentry of federal prisoners into the community, including the program for placing elderly offenders in home detention; (2) repeal programs under such Act relating to responsible reintegration of offenders, the study of the effectiveness of Depot Naltrexone for heroin addiction, and the satellite tracking and reentry training program; and (3) establish a program for partnering faith-based or community-based nonprofit organizations with prisons to conduct recidivism reduction activities.

 

Directs the Attorney General, in consultation with specified federal officials and in collaboration with interested persons and entities, to establish an interagency task force on federal programs and activities for the reentry of offenders into the community. Requires such task force to: (1) evaluate and identity methods for improving such programs and activities, and (2) report to Congress on barriers faced by offenders in reentering the community and update such report annually.

 

We also have available a short one page CPR introductory letter that we can send to all Judiciary staff in the Senate and the House.

 

A report from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law proposes modernizing one key aspect of the criminal justice system: federal prosecutors. Prosecutors are in a uniquely powerful position to bring change, since they make decisions about when and whether to bring criminal charges, and make recommendations for sentencing. The report proposes reorienting the way prosecutors’ “success” is measured around three core goals: Reducing violent and serious crime, reducing prison populations, and reducing recidivism. The mechanism for change would be a shift in how attorneys’ performance is assessed, to give prosecutors incentives to focus on how their practices reduce crime in and improve the communities they serve, instead of making their “success” simply a measure of how many individuals they convict and send to prison.

<http://www.brennancenter.org/publication/federal-prosecution-21st-century>

 

We have also composed a Call Letter to be sent to Congress members in the House of Representatives, and attached it to this call agenda.

 

In the Senate

 

Senate Judiciary Committee

Majority (Democrat) Minority (Republican)
Patrick Leahy, Vermont, Chariman(113th) Chuck Grassley, Iowa, Ranking Member
Dianne Feinstein, California Orrin Hatch, Utah
Chuck Schumer, New York Jeff Sessions, Alabama
Dick Durbin, Illinois Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
Sheldon Whitehouse,  Rhode Island John Cornyn, Texas
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Mike Lee, Utah
Al Franken, Minnesota Ted Cruz, Texas
Chris Coons, Delaware Jeff Flake, Arizona
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut
Mazie Hirono, Hawaii

  1. 1410 Smarter Sentencing Act of 2014

There are now 32 US Senators co-sponsoring the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2014 (S. 1410), sponsored by Sen. Richard Durbin [IL], which focuses on removing the statutory minimum sentence for a number of non-violent crimes. There are also 50 members of the US House co-sponsoring the House version of the bill (H.R. 3382). It will also require the Attorney General to report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committee on how the money saved from this Act will in turn be used to mitigate the present problems of overcrowding in federal prisons.

 

https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/1410

 

 

Cornyn-Whitehouse-Portman Legislation

  1. 1675 Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2014

All Information (except text) Text of Legislation CRS Summary Major Congressional Actions

All Congressional Actions 

All Congressional Actions with Amendments
With links to Congressional Record pages, votes,reports
Titles Cosponsors (8) Committees
Related Bills Amendments
CBO Cost Estimates Subjects

 

The Cornyn-Whitehouse-Portman legislation combines elements of S. 1783, the Federal Prison Reform Act, introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), along with Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA).  It would address this growing problem by building on reforms that have proven successful at the state level.

 

Among other provisions, this legislation:

  • Requires all eligible offenders to undergo regular risk assessments to determine whether an offender has a low, medium, or high-risk of recidivism.
  • Excludes all sex offenders, terrorism offenders, violent offenders, repeat offenders, major organized crime offenders, and major fraud offenders from participation in the program.
  • Encourages participation in recidivism reduction programs and productive activities, like prison jobs.
  • Contains no new authorized spending, and requires the mandated recidivism reduction programs to be provided by faith-based groups, non-profits, or through savings generated by the legislation.
  • Allows earned time credits for low-risk prisoners of up to 10 days for every 30 days that the prisoner is successfully completing a recidivism reduction program or productive activity.
  • Allows medium risk prisoners to earn a 5 day for 30 day time credit while successfully completing recidivism reduction programs and productive activities. These offenders would only be able to use these credits if they demonstrate a substantial reduction in their probability of recidivism as a result of participation in programs.
  • Does not allow high risk offenders to use any time credits unless they reduce their risk levels to a lower tier.
  • Would allow certain low risk offenders who demonstrate exemplary behavior to spend the final portion of their earned credit time on community supervision.

 

Cosponsors of S. 1675:

Sen Blumenthal, Richard [CT] – 3/10/2014

Sen Cornyn, John [TX] – 3/10/2014

Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] – 3/10/2014

Sen Lee, Mike [UT] – 3/10/2014

Sen Paul, Rand [KY] – 7/10/2014

Sen Portman, Rob [OH] – 11/13/2013

Sen Rubio, Marco [FL] – 5/14/2014

Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] – 3/10/2014

 

 

Senate Action Items

 

We need to schedule appointments with key Senate offices.

We propose the following list but would like to add to it:

 

Senator Harry Reid (D), Majority Leader – contacted 8/11/14

Senator Mitch McConnell (R), Minority Leader – contacted 8/11/14

Senator Cory Booker (D), REDEEM Act – Edwina met with Danny Smith on 8/12/2014

Senator Rand Paul (R), REDEEM Act – Edwina met with Billy Easley on 9/2/2014

Senate Judiciary Committee

– Chuck Grassley (R), Ranking Member

– Orrin G. Hatch (R) – Edwina met with Jennifer Henderson on 8/28/2014

– Jeff Sessions (R) – Edwina met with Rachael Tucker on 8/28/2014

– John Cornyn (R) – meeting scheduled with Stephen Tausend on 9/3/2014 at 11:00 AM

– Michael S. Lee (R) – contacted 8/11/14

– Sheldon Whitehouse (D) – Edwina met with Michael Fisher on 8/12/2014

– Lindsey Graham (R) – Edwina met with David Glaccum and Sergio Sarkany on 9/2/2014

– Ted Cruz (R) – Edwina met with Martin Martinez on 9/18/2014

– Jeff Flake (R) – Edwina met with Senator Flake’s staffmember Gary Barnett on 9/12/2014

 

 

Please let Edwina Rogers know if you want to attend any of these meetings.  She can be reached at edwinarogers@centerforprisonreform.org.

 

 

US House of Representatives

 

House Judiciary Committee

Majority (Republicans) Minority (Democrats)
Bob Goodlate, Virginia, Chairman (113th) John Conyers, Michigan, Ranking Member
Jim Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin Jerrold Nadler, New York
Howard Coble, North Carolina Bobby Scott, Virginia
Lamar S. Smith, Texas, Former Chairman (112th) Mel Watt, North Carolina
Steve Chabot, Ohio Zoe Lofgren, California
Spencer Bachus, Alabama Sheila Jackson-Lee, Texas
Darrell Issa, California Steve Cohen, Tennessee
Randy Forbes, Virginia Hank Johnson, Georgia
Steve King, Iowa Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico
Trent Franks, Arizona Judy Chu, California
Louie Gohmert, Texas Ted Deutch, Florida
Jim Jordan, Ohio Luis Gutierrez, Illinois
Ted Poe, Texas Karen Bass, California
Jason Chaffetz, Utah Cedric Richmond, Louisiana
Tom Marino, Pennsylvania Suzan DelBene, Washington
Trey Gowdy, South Carolina Joe Garcia, Florida
Mark Amodei, Nevada Hakeem Jeffries, New York
Raúl Labrador, Idaho David Cicilline, Rhode Island
Blake Farenthold, Texas
George Holding, North Carolina
Doug Collins, Georgia
Ron DeSantis, Florida
Jason T. Smith, Missouri   

H.R. 2656 The Public Safety Enhancement Act of 2013

Bill Sponsors:  Rep. Chaffetz, et al. There are 25 cosponsors (14 D and 11 R).  In the House Judiciary Committee and the subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations.  The bill will enhance public safety by improving the effective and efficiency of the Federal prison system with offender risk and needs assessments, individual risk reduction incentives and rewards, and risk and recidivism reduction.

 

Co-Sponsors are:  Howard Coble, John Conyers, Hakeem Jeffries, Tom Marino, dam Schiff, Robby Scott, Tony Cardenas, Henry Johnson, Steve Cohen, Alan Lowenthal, Eleanor Norton, Beto O’Rourke, Marc Veasey, Spencer Bachus, Theodore Deutch, Richard Hanna, Ted Poe, Judy Chu, Jerroid Nadler, Susan Brooks, Trey Gowdy, Rob Bishop, Paul Ryan, Blake Farenthold, Raul Labrador.

 

House Leadership

 

We need to determine the level of interest shown by the current Republican and Democratic leadership in the House.

 

Appointments for meetings with House of Representatives are currently being sought.

 

Representative Raul Labrador (R), cosponsor of Smarter Sentencing Act

 

Had a meeting with Vanessa Chen on Thursday 8/7/2014

 

Representative Jason Chaffetz (R), cosponsor of Public Safety Enhancement Act HR 2656

(202) 225-7751 – Edwina met with Congressman Chaffetz on 9/16/2014

 

Representative Darrell Issa – Edwina met with Congressman Issa’s staffmember Ellen Dargie on 9/15/2014

 

Representative Gregory Meeks – Edwina met with Jordan Morris on 9/23

 

Representative Cedric Richmond – rescheduled

 

 

Executive Branch

The US Sentencing Commission decided last week to make almost 50,000 federal prisoners, convicted of non-violent crimes, eligible for reduced sentences. This was met with some resistance by Prosecutors who feared reopening more cases would overcrowd the courts.

(http://m.washingtonpost.com/politics/thousands-of-felons-could-have-drug-sentences-lessened/2014/07/18/4876209e-0eb1-11e4-8341-b8072b1e7348_story.html)

 

The White House is already working on prison reforms through its drug policy reforms (http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/drugpolicyreform) and the Second Chance Act (http://csgjusticecenter.org/nrrc/projects/second-chance-act/).

 

White House

– Domestic Policy Council

– Office of Public Affairs

– Office of Legislative Affairs

 

Department of Justice, Office of Legislative Affairs

 

Bureau of Prisons (public or legislative affairs office)

 

 

Judicial Branch

 

Edwina has a meeting with two members of the US Sentencing Commission on 10/9

 

US Sentencing Commission

 

The Commission Staff is holding a briefing for the sentencing advocacy community on their priorities for the 2014-15 Amendment Cycle. This is not a meeting on amendment-specific proposals, but rather an opportunity to speak generally with staff on the Commission’s new priorities.

 

The briefing on the priorities took place on Wednesday, September 3 at 1:00 p.m. at the Commission’s offices at the Thurgood Marshall Judiciary Building, One Columbus Circle, NE, Suite 2500, Washington, DC 20002.

 

The Sentencing Commission’s Final Priorities List is attached.

 

Summary: The public support and outcry on the comments helped a lot with regard to the amendments earlier this summer concerning drugs. Congress has until November 1 to disapprove of the US Sentencing Commission’s actions because they made the amendments retroactive – there could be attacks from the new Congress.

 

The commission gave testimony before the House and the Senate, and presented a letter to Congress regarding the mandatory minimum sentences.  The commission thinks that the Smarter Sentencing Act should pass, be retroactive, and have a larger safety valve.

 

There is currently not enough support within the commission to move away completely from mandatory minimum sentences. Guidelines are now advisory, and they can vary widely by the judge.

 

The Commission would like to see congress address the conspiracy matter. And the Commission would like to see more work done on the risk assessment legislation.

The sentencing format says that family circumstances are not to be taken into account but the advisory guidelines allow for family circumstances to be considered.

 

There is a report to Congress due the end of August 2015, on any cost-savings from the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. The commission will only report on beds. The Commission will not have a big amendment for a while like it just had on drugs. The new focus at the Commission is economic crime. Commission held a symposium last fall on economic crimes.

 

They will be coming up with a new proposal and request comment. The staff has spent a lot of time researching these matters in 2014. The proposed amendments should be available in January.

The commission has an ongoing study on recidivism; this is a federal data story. They will report in 2015 via a series of publications.

 

The research will include bail, sentencing, release, and reentry. They will look at risk assessments along time. This will be consistent with the SRA. They will be looking at what other countries are doing but will not conduct original research with other countries’ data.

 

The Commission will look at definition issues like “crimes of violence” and “aggravated felony”.

The Commission will consider amendments or recommendations to Congress to make sentencing more uniform. The Commission just put out for comments amendments concerning Indian tribes, and whether tribal convictions should be counted by the federal system.

The Commission does not plan to act on the child pornography issue in 2015. The commission will look at mitigating roles and violations of probation, and will expect recommendations this year.

 

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