Pubdate: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Copyright: 2007 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Contact: http://www.stltoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/418 Author: Robert Patrick Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?244 (Sentencing - United States) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Sentencing+Commission Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) 820 HERE COULD ASK FOR TERMS TO BE CUT A U.S. Sentencing Commission vote Tuesday will allow 19,500 primarily black federal inmates -- including 820 in the St. Louis region -- to seek a reduction in their prison terms for crack cocaine offenses. Earlier this year, the commission reduced the range of sentences that federal crack defendants will face in the future, after years of complaints that punishment for powdered cocaine offenses was lighter. In a unanimous vote, commission members made the relief retroactive. The issue has strong racial overtones because crack defendants are predominantly black, and powdered cocaine defendants predominantly white. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, a former federal judge, said at a news conference Tuesday, "Our position is clear. We oppose it." The Justice Department said retroactivity discounts the factors judges considered in making the original sentences and threatens to swamp the courts and probation system. Scott Rosenblum, a prominent criminal defense lawyer here, said the change makes justice fairer and was long overdue. In October, the commission estimated that about 450 of the affected inmates had been sentenced in the Eastern District of Missouri, based in St. Louis. It was 10th highest among the federal court districts. There are about 370 in the Southern District of Illinois, based in East St. Louis. It ranked 14th. Nationally, about 86 percent of the affected inmates are black, 8 percent Hispanic and 6 percent white. Under the new sentencing guidelines, they on average face 27 fewer months in prison. The commission stressed that judges will make the final determination in each case. The retroactivity does not begin until March 3, to provide time to work out logistics. In the courthouses, there were a lot of questions. "We're kind of at a standstill," said Phyllis Nelson, chief probation officer in Southern Illinois. She said her staff awaits instructions from Washington and the courts. Rosenblum said he did not know what procedure would be used. Adam Fein, a colleague in his firm, said that a probation officer in St. Louis said that lawyers may not even need to be involved. Not all inmates will qualify, depending on the facts of their cases. For some, more than one drug was involved. For others, the reduction would not make a difference. Some were sentenced to life in prison. Officials said three are ailing and expected to die before the new policy takes hold. In an example Rosenblum provided, a first-time offender caught with 20 grams of crack -- whose case involved no gun or other aggravating factor -- could have faced 78-97 months in prison before the change. After, it's 63 to 78 months. Rosenblum said the change will not affect the mandatory minimums for crack offenses -- five or 10 years depending on the amount of the drug. And it will still take 500 grams of powdered cocaine to earn a defendant a mandatory five years, compared to just five grams of crack. That disparity would be reduced or eliminated in some bills in Congress. The commission's decision comes a day after the Supreme Court reinforced its view that federal sentencing guidelines -- including those for crack cases -- are advisory rather than mandatory, and that judges may deviate from them as long as their decisions are reasonable. The commission was formed more than 20 years ago to try to make sentences more consistent among judges and court districts. The changes do not affect state court sentences, which are set at the state level. Local police and prosecutors often prefer to hand off large-scale drug cases to federal courts because they generally offer longer sentences. There was substantial pressure on the issue. "Almost all of more than 33,000 letters and written comments favored the change," a commission statement announcing the vote said. Court officials have been planning for the possibility for months. Doug Burris, chief federal probation officer in St. Louis, is among 10 members of a national advisory group for his peers. He said the first attention will go to inmates who might be eligible for immediate release. Officials are even looking into whether the resentencings could be conducted via video conference so U.S. marshals aren't faced with hundreds of trips between federal prisons and courts. Burris said the Eastern District of Virginia, which leads the nation in eligible inmates, could have more than 1,000 resentencings. "They're going to be almost killed with it," he said. Other federal court districts will send workers to help out. His office does not expect to need extra help, but Burris added, "I've got to tell you, there will be a lot of extra hours -- a lot of nights and weekends." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake