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…

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. 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 that such offenders should be covered under…

Low-level crack cocaine defendants should benefit from a 2018 federal law that reduced prison sentences for certain offenses, the Biden administration told largely unreceptive members of the Supreme Court May 4. Although then-President Donald Trump signed the criminal justice reform measure known as the First Step Act into law, his administration held the view that…

Low-level crack cocaine defendants should benefit from a 2018 federal law that reduced prison sentences for certain offenses, the Biden administration advised the Supreme Court, distancing itself from a more hardline position taken by the Trump administration. Although then-President Donald Trump signed the criminal justice reform measure known as the First Step Act into law,…