The federal gang enhancement follows the Sentencing Commission’s tradition of increasing sentences without critical and empirical examination of an enhancement’s impact. However, all hope is not lost. Even if the client has been convicted of a subject offense, is the client “affiliated with” a gang, cartel, or organized crime ring, and did the client commit the crime “in connection with” the organization? Juval Scott provides strategies to challenge the enhancement.

For many, the only path to freedom, and the medical care that comes with it, is compassionate release.

This month Teresa J. Sopp reviews Justice Pursued: The Exoneration of Nathan Myers and Clifford Williams by Bruce Horovitz and Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival and Unbreakable Bonds by Michelle Horton.

This month Jon M. Sands reviews When Crack Was King: A People’s History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X. Ramsey.

This month Amelie Gonzalez and Jacqueline Goodman review Correction: Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change by Ben Austen.

Meet Marcel Johnson

During its 2023-2024 Term, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed criminal penalties for people who are homeless; blocked the ATF’s regulation of bump stocks; ended Chevron deference, a landmark doctrine of administrative review; and decided that U.S. presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for core constitutional acts taken during their tenure in office. Criminal defense lawyers will talk about these cases for years to come.

Turning Back The Clock? Booker's Impact On Due Process Rights Of Defendants In Pipeline Cases

For noncitizen defendants convicted of a deportable offense, the punitive and rehabilitative undertones of the American justice system play out differently than they do for U.S. citizens. Instead of rehabilitation, they are exposed to the most punitive undertones of the penal code, even for many nonviolent offenses. Defendants may face life-changing consequences, such as being torn away from the lives they established in the United States. Counsel must take these special considerations into account when representing noncitizen clients.

Uncovering Deep Levels of Sentence Mitigation Using Psychodramatic Action Techniques

Psychodrama, sometimes called drama therapy or action therapy, employs role playing to explore emotional and psychological issues. Psychodramatic techniques have seldom been applied in the sentencing phase of noncapital cases – until now.

While often justified as a way to deter violence inside facilities, solitary confinement is more often used to punish non-violent transgressions such as dress code violations, refusal to work, or lack of respect toward correctional officials. Despite the failure of the U.S. Supreme Court to find that solitary confinement per se violates the Eighth Amendment, increasing numbers of stakeholders, including correctional officers, have called for its abolition.

This month Frank Quintero Jr. reviews Judicial Web by Steve Silva.

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.

Many states have passed legislation limiting or prohibiting solitary confinement for certain groups, including pregnant women and young people. Although the pace of change has been slow in the solitary confinement landscape, it is moving in the right direction.

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.