Statute
First Step Act
574 published works
Federal Defenders of New York Blog
Section 404(b) of the First Step Act reaches back only to the Fair Sentencing Act’s crack-quantity thresholds and does not carry § 401, narrowing the definition of § 841’s triggering predicates, with it.
By FDNY Staff
United States v. VanHoesen, No. 24-2692 (2d Cir. Aug. 24, 2026) (Cabranes, Livingston (writing), Menashi).The Second Circuit affirmed VanHoesen’s sentence of time served and eight years of supervised release, imposed…
Chicago Criminal Law Blog
Do I Qualify for Compassionate Release When the Law Changes?
Supreme Court Rules Sentencing Disparities Cannot Justify Early Release for Pre-First Step Act Prisoners Whenever Congress changes the laws and regulations around what kind of sentences should be handed down…
Elizabeth Franklin-Best Blog
Understanding Compassionate Release Petitions and Filing Them with the Help of an Appellate Attorney Under the First Step Act
Compassionate release petitions are a lifeline for sentenced federal inmates facing serious medical conditions and other compassionate circumstances. The First Step Act, which came into force on December 21, 2018,…
Elizabeth Franklin-Best Blog
Does the First Step Act Apply to Supervised Release Revocation?
The First Step Act allows the court to reduce an inmate’s sentence if their offense was covered under the Fair Sentencing Act, but does the First Step Act apply to…
Criminal
Is it too early to speculate about what could be in a new “Comprehensive Crime Bill”?
The question in the title of this post is prompted by Prez Trump's latest social media posting, which asserts that "Speaker Mike Johnson, and Leader John Thune, are working with…
Sentencing Law and Policy
More details on the BOP's new First Step Act Task Force and its challenges
I noted in this post last week that the new Direcotr of the federal Bureau of Prisons has created a new First Step Act Task Force. This new Forbes article…
Criminal
More details on the BOP’s new First Step Act Task Force and its challenges
I noted in this post last week that the new Direcotr of the federal Bureau of Prisons has created a new First Step Act Task Force. This new Forbes article…
Criminal
BOP Director launches First Step Act Task Force
This press release from the Buraeu of Prisons earlier this week reports on a notable development inside the BOP. The heading of the press release provides the basics: "Director Marshall…
Sentencing Law and Policy
By 5-4 vote, Supreme Court in <em>Hewitt</em> allow district court to apply more lenient law at FSA resentencings
The Supreme Court this morning handed down its final big sentencing opinion of the Term with Hewitt v. United States, No. 23-1002 (S. Ct. June 26, 2025) (available here). The…
Sentencing Law and Policy
Where are concerns for liberty and lenity and broader constitutional values in <em>Hewitt</em>?
Because I believe the Surpeme Court reached the right result in Hewitt this morning when interpretting the reach of a sentencing provision in the First Step Act (basics here), I…