Low-level crack cocaine defendants are not included in the Trump-era First Step Act that reduced some prison sentences, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously this morning. The court’s opinion in Terry v. U.S., court file 20-5904, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, is a defeat for the Biden administration which had argued such offenders should be covered under the 2018 statute. Justice Sonia Sotomayor concurred in the result and in part of the opinion. Although then-President Donald Trump signed into law the criminal justice reform measure known as the First Step Act, it was his administration’s view that possession of a small amount of crack cocaine wasn’t covered under the statute. The Biden administration reversed course and argued that the defendant in the current case, Tarahrick Terry, deserved a reduction in his nearly 16-year sentence. The U.S. Department of Justice reinterpreted Section 404 of the First Step Act, concluding that Terry’s conviction …
Low-level Crack Offenders Are Not Covered Under First Step Act, Says Unanimous Supreme Court
June 14, 2021
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