By Johanna S. Zapp, Esq.
The United States Sentencing Commission voted today to reduce the sentencing guideline levels applicable to most federal drug trafficking offenders.
The Commission voted unanimously to amend the guidelines to lower the base offense levels in the Drug Quantity Table across drug types. The drug guidelines under the amendment would remain linked to statutory mandatory minimum penalties. The Commission estimates that approximately 70 percent of federal drug trafficking defendants would qualify for the change, with their sentences decreasing an average of 11 months, or 17 percent, from 62 to 51 months on average.
The Drug Quantity Table amendment would:
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Generally reduce by two levels the base offense levels for all drug types in the Drug Quantity Table in guideline §2D1.1, which governs drug trafficking cases;
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Ensure the guideline penalties remain consistent with existing five- and ten-year statutory mandatory minimum drug penalties by structuring the Drug Quantity Table so that offenders eligible for the five- and ten-year mandatory minimum penalties would receive base offense levels 24 and 30 (which correspond to a guideline range of 51 to 63 months and 97 to 121 months, respectively), rather than the existing levels of 26 and 32 (which correspond to 63 to 78 months and 121 to 151, respectively);
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Maintain 38 as the highest base
offense level in the drug quantity table for the highest quantities of drugs;
The Commission also voted today to prepare a study of the impact of making the drug amendment retroactive and will consider the issue as required by statute. This means, we do not yet know if this is retroactive. It is not clear if you would receive this benefit if you have already been sentenced. I REPEAT: WE DO NOT KNOW IF THIS IS RETROACTIVE.
This amendment will pass in November 2014, however, your lawyer MUST ask the court to apply it now. The policies for the US Attorney’s offices appear to be that they will not object to the request made by your attorney to have the two point reduction applied to your sentence before the November date. However, it is required that your attorney ask for the two point reduction, it will not be offered by the government unless your attorney asks for it.