This training program will aid those working to defend persons accused of homicide in drug-related overdose deaths. Each section of the program focuses on a different aspect of these cases. CLE is not available for this program.

Join us for an in-depth discussion on the latest developments in litigation under the First Step Act of 2018.

The First Step Act was signed into law on Dec. 21, 2018. NACDL and its members have long pressed to fix the unjustly severe federal sentencing regime, advocating for much more sweeping changes than are included in the First Step Act. Although the law does not go nearly as far as NACDL would like, it will benefit many prisoners and has important implications for practitioners. In these members-only webinars, leading experts examine the intricacies of the First Step Act.

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.

The Compassionate Release Clearinghouse is a collaborative pro bono effort between FAMM and NACDL connecting federal prisoners with grounds for compassionate release with pro bono counsel.

The First Step Act revised the federal compassionate release statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).

The First Step Act made important changes to several federal drug and gun statutes. The Act reduced mandatory minimum enhancements for some drug defendants and also changed the definition of these enhancements.  It also modified the existing federal safety valve, broadening its application to more drug defendants; changed the “stacking” penalty under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); and retroactively applied the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.

The First Step Act required the Department of Justice to develop a risk and needs assessment tool to be used by the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) to assess the recidivism risk of all federal prisoners. Inmates are classified as minimum, low, medium or high risk, and are placed in recidivism reduction programs based on identified needs.

The First Step Act (P.L. 115-391 756) was signed into law on December 21, 2018. The Act is a federal criminal justice reform bill that changes many harsh federal sentencing laws.  The Act also expands compassionate release for qualifying federal inmates and offers current federal inmates rehabilitative programming and the possibility for early release from prison.

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.

Over the past 20 years, federal and state law enforcement officials have become zealous proponents of child pornography laws that punish such crimes with increasingly severe sanctions. As a result of the routine imposition of mandatory minimums as well as massive Guideline sentences, sex offenders now constitute — for the first time — the fourth largest group of offenders in the Bureau of Prisons, costing the public well over $307 million a year just to house.¹

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.

The First Step Act created a powerful tool for reducing prison time and recidivism risk with its earned time credits (ETC) system. But because the BOP’s implementation of ETCs has been slow and uneven, people have been forced to bring habeas petitions, often pro se, against the BOP.  This resource collects favorable case law regarding a variety of common ETC issues into string cites for use in such petitions. If you have feedback, please contact Trevor Parkes, the Counsel & Project Director of NACDL’s First Step Act Resource Center, at tparkes@nacdl.org.

This submission addresses the proposed amendments to the career offender guideline, firearms-related guidelines, and guideline simplification. On all other issues in the proposed amendment cycle not addressed in this letter, NACDL joins in the comments filed by the Federal Defenders.

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.