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.

Because the full implications of First Step Act measures may not be immediately apparent, NACDL hosted a live webinar on January 29, 2019. Sentencing expert Amy Baron-Evans discussed the ins and outs of the new law, with emphasis on potentially overlooked aspects of the most significant provisions. Amy is the Sentencing Resource Counsel for the Federal Public and Community Defenders, and the go-to lawyer among federal defenders for difficult sentencing questions.

Long underused and unfairly applied by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, federal compassionate release is seeing a revival under the First Step Act. That law not only corrected many of the flaws in the way the BOP handled compassionate release requests, but allows prisoners direct access to the courts. The new law clarifies the broad range of circumstances related to age, illness, and family circumstances that might trigger eligibility for relief and further opens up exciting new opportunities to seek reconsideration of sentences that are no longer appropriate for a variety of other reasons.

American Bar Association letter filed with the U.S. Sentencing Commission on August 15, 2005 in connection with its decision to add the privilege waiver issue to the list of tentative priorities for the 2005-2006 Sentencing Guidelines amendment cycle.

Comments submitted to the U.S. Sentencing Commission by NACDL's informal Coalition on the Privilege Waiver Amendment to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines regarding priorities in the current (2006) amendment cycle.

Comment letter submitted by nine former senior Justice Department officials to the U.S. Sentencing Commission in connection with its recent decision to add the privilege waiver issue to the list of tentative priorities for the 2005-2006 Federal Sentencing Guidelines amendment cycle. Signatories include former Attorneys General Griffin Bell, Ed Meese, and Dick Thornburgh, former Acting Attorney General Stuart Gerson, former Deputy Attorneys General Carol Dinkins and George Terwilliger, and former Solicitors General Ted Olson, Ken Starr, and Seth Waxman.

Comments to the U.S. Sentencing Commission from the Coalition to Preserve Attorney-Client Privilege regarding proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines.

These briefs on a series of questions, including whether the government is required to prove knowledge of drug type and quantity to trigger mandatory minimum and increased maximum sentences in drug cases were filed in the 9^th Circuit by the federal defender and sentencing resource counsel in LA.

Comments to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines.

Letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding USSC priorities in the current (2014) amendment cycle.

Comments to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines.

Comments to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines.

Comments to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines.

U.S. Sentencing Commission Overview of the First Step Act.

NACDL Executive Director Norman Reimer's written statement to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security regarding implementation of the First Step Act of 2018 (S. 756). Accompanied by NACDL's FOIA request to the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs regarding the risk and needs assessment tool DOJ will create for such implementation.