Sentencing Commission Sourcebook for FY 2021: The U.S. Sentencing Commission has released the Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics for FY 2021. I posted a thread on Twitter with some quick observations about the drug cases in FY 2021. It’s worth noting that crack cocaine cases have once again declined in total and as a percentage of all federal drug trafficking cases. In FY 2021, there were 1,088 crack cocaine trafficking cases, which was 6.2 percent of all drug trafficking cases. This is down from 1,217 cases in FY 2020 (7.5 percent of all trafficking cases) and the peak of 6,168 cases in FY 2008.
Three new EQUAL Act cosponsors: Sens. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) have cosponsored the EQUAL Act, S. 79. Those who have read this newsletter long enough know that the EQUAL Act would eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. This brings the total number of cosponsors on the EQUAL Act to 15 senators (eight Republicans and seven Democrats).
Zelenskyy speaks to Congress: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a very moving speech this morning to members of Congress in which he painted a picture of Russian aggression that his nation is facing and showed a video of some of the devastation caused by the bombing. Although he spoke through a translator, the last few moments of his speech were delivered in English. He said, “I’m almost 45 years old. Today, my age stopped when the hearts of more than 100 children stopped beating. I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths. And this is my main issue as the leader of my people, brave Ukrainians. And as the leader of my nation, I am addressing the President Biden. You are the leader of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.” You can watch the speech here. The transcript is available here.
Surprise! Daylight saving time could come to an end: Well, no one saw this coming. The Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, S. 623, yesterday by unanimous consent only days after we all lost an hour of sleep thanks to this ridiculous law. Under the Sunshine Protection Act, there would be no more springing forward or falling back an hour. We’d get more daylight in the fall and winter. It’s unclear whether the House will take up the legislation, but this needs to happen.
Senate votes to end mask mandates on public transportation: On Tuesday, the Senate passed S.J.Res. 37 by a vote of 57 to 40. This is a disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and was privileged in the Senate (meaning it bypassed the filibuster) that would nullify a rule issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requiring individuals to wear a mask on public transportation, including on airplanes. It’s unlikely that the House will consider the disapproval resolution, and it’s even less likely that President Biden would sign it into law. Still, the fact that several Democrats voted with Republicans to eliminate this mandate shows the politics of the pandemic have very much changed.
The Senate is still taking up nominees: The Senate resumed session at 10:30 am to resume consideration of the nomination of Jacqueline Scott Corley to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Cloture was invoked on the nomination this morning and a confirmation vote should happen this afternoon, probably not long after this is sent to readers’ inboxes. There are several other nominations expected to come up in the remainder of the week, all of whom are listed below:
Fred W. Slaughter to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Ruth Bermudez Montenegro to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
Victoria Marie Calvert to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Julie Rebecca Rubin to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Hector Gonzalez to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
John H. Chun to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
Sarah Elisabeth Geraghty to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Georgette Castner to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
Cristina D. Silva to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
Anne Rachel Traum, of Nevada, to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada
Andrew M. Luger to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota for the term of four years
Alison J. Nathan to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
And over in the House: The House will consider the rule, H.Res. 979 (summary), governing the floor debate for the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, H.R. 963, and the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act, H.R. 2116. The FAIR Act and the CROWN Act will hit the floor tomorrow and Friday, although I’m not sure of the order. The House will also consider postponed votes on suspensions at some point today. Those postponed suspensions are the Save the Liberty Theater Act, H.R. 3197; To designate the El Paso Community Healing Garden National Memorial, and for other purposes, H.R. 4380; and the Japanese American WWII History Network Act, H.R. 6434.
Goodbye, Freddie Freeman: Earlier this week, the Atlanta Braves traded for a new first baseman, Matt Olson, and gave him an eight-year contract extension. By most accounts, Olson is a great player. He can hit for power and is a defensive upgrade. Still, there isn’t a Braves fan alive who isn’t frustrated that Freddie Freeman won’t be in Atlanta when the season begins. The Braves are still an exciting team to watch, with a ton of young talent, but Freeman was the heart and soul of the team. I have no idea where Freeman will ultimately sign, but I’ll be a fan of that dude no matter where he goes. Atlanta owes him a lot.
Due Process Institute is a bipartisan nonprofit that works to honor, preserve, and restore principles of fairness in the criminal legal system. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.