Pubdate: Tue, 22 Mar 2016
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2016 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Del Quentin Wilber

NEW FOCUS ON VIOLENT DRUG OFFENDERS

Justice Department Leaving Lower- Level Defendants to States.

WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors are charging fewer defendants with 
drug crimes as part of an initiative to target more serious and 
violent offenders, a top Justice Department official said Monday.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Sally Yates said newly released statistics showed 
that federal prosecutors brought nearly 20% fewer drug cases in f 
iscal year 2015 than they did in fiscal 2012, the year before the 
Justice Department launched its "Smart on Crime Initiative," which 
has sought to recalibrate how it uses its resources to combat narcotics crimes.

The drop amounts to nearly 5,000 fewer drug offenders entering the 
federal judicial system, Yates said.

"We were looking at targeted enforcement that would have the greatest 
public safety impact," she told reporters. "That means bringing the 
most serious case against the most serious defendants and that means 
recognizing that not every case ought to be brought in federal court."

The program was started in August 2013 by then- Atty. Gen. Eric H. 
Holder Jr., who said the department was hoping to save money and more 
fairly enforce drug laws by prioritizing the cases they brought.

Holder and other top officials pushed the department to focus 
resources on big drug dealers and those involving violence while 
leaving lower-level offenders to state courts.

Yates said the data show that prosecutors are also charging fewer 
defendants with offenses that require they serve mandatory minimum 
sentences in prison. In f iscal 2015, she said, about 47% of all drug 
offenders faced a mandatory minimum sentence, down from 62% in 2012.

At the same time, she said, prosecutors were keeping an eye on those 
who used weapons in crimes, noting that such offenders made up 17% of 
all drug defendants in 2015, up from 15% in 2012.

Yates said she was optimistic that Congress would pass legislation 
this year that would grant judges more f lexibility in dealing with 
nonviolent, low-level drug offenders. Such a bill, sponsored by 
senators of both parties, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in 
October on a 15- 5 vote.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom