This submission addresses the proposed amendments to (1) the Sentencing Commission’s policies regarding supervised release and (2) §2D1.1 On all other issues in the proposed amendments not addressed in this letter, NACDL joins in the comments filed by the Federal Defenders.

NACDL submits this comment in response the Bureau of Prisons’ Proposed rule that would change the regulations regarding the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (IFRP).  … We thank the Bureau for taking seriously the comments made regarding this initial proposal. Nevertheless, we are concerned that the new rule regarding the IFRP does not comply with the requirements or goals of the First Step Act, signed into law by President Trump in 2018.

NACDL supports the Commission’s proposed amendment to §1B1.13, with some suggested modifications, and supports Option 3 to (b)(6). After reviewing the Commission’s recent hearings on this proposed amendment as well as the submitted written testimony, NACDL focuses its comments on proposals (b)(5), (b)(6), and (b)(4).

Brief of Amici Curiae Due Process Institute and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Petitioner-Appellant and Supporting Reversal

Brief of Amici Curiae American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Cato Institute, Due Process Institute, FAMM, and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Petitioners.

Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellee.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Policy Statement allowing sentence reductions for defendants who received an “unusually long sentence” faces an uncertain future after the 2024 Third Circuit decision in United States v. Rutherford.

When the BOP Unlawfully Executes a Client’s Sentence Under the First Step Act

Federal defenders Stephen Sady and Elizabeth Daily offer pointers on enforcing the First Step Act time credits through administrative law and habeas corpus. They provide practitioners with practical ways to begin negotiating, then litigating when necessary, against the BOP’s failure to fully implement the First Step Act’s provisions.

The United States Sentencing Commission updated U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, the policy statement that governs federal reduction-in-sentence motions filed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). The legal hook for a reduction-in-sentence motion is identifying one or more “extraordinary and compelling” reasons that warrant relief. The authors provide tips for litigating § 3582(c)(1)(A) motions – both the extraordinary and compelling prong and the § 3553(a) prong.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Welcomes BOP Rule Allowing for the Release of Thousands Under the First Step Act – Washington, DC (Jan. 13, 2022) – Thousands will be released from federal prisons over the next weeks thanks to implementation of a rule created by the 2018 First Step Act. The rule, implemented today by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), allows incarcerated individuals to work toward home confinement or supervised release by completing approved Evidence-Based Recidivism Reduction (EBRR) Programs and Productive Activities (PAs).

FAMM, Washington Lawyers’ Committee, NACDL Launch Emergency Compassionate Release Effort-- In a massive pro bono effort, our groups are recruiting, training, and supporting lawyers who agree to represent individuals in federal prisons eligible for compassionate release and those at special risk due to COVID-19.

Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar and Charles Koch Foundation Mark the One-Year Anniversary of the First Step Act with the NACDL First Step Act Resource Center -- Washington, DC (Dec. 19, 2019) – Saturday, December 21, marks the one-year anniversary of the signing into law of the First Step Act, a landmark bipartisan criminal justice reform measure. The Act was passed as a first step toward addressing the problems related to overcriminalization and overincarceration in the federal criminal justice system.