After years of pleas and persuasion, the US Sentencing Commission has finally done something (though not nearly enough, that requires an act of Congress) to offset the collosal, racially discriminatory disparity between drug sentences for powder and crack cocaine. There's a fairly comprehensive article about it. here. Even better, the sentences are going to be changed retroactively. A whole bunch of people are going to be eligible for release because their new sentence is shorter than what they have already served. And there's a whole lot of other people, who might not get right out, but will get considerably lower sentences when the judge takes a second look with recently broadened sentencing power. So guess what I get to do for the next couple of weeks? I am on a three lawyer team at my office that will handle the motions for resentencing for eligible defendants. There aren't a ton of crack cases in Oregon, unlike DC or Chicago or Detroit where there's going to be a great number of these folks. But its still going to be SUPER BUSY.
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