NEWSBRIEFS	TOPICS Sentencing
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• July - August 1998
  • Michigan Enacts Reform of "650-Lifer" Law
     
• February 1998
  • Signing Drug Lifer Law Was a Mistake Says Former Michigan Governor
     
• January 1998
  • African-Americans In Alabama Disproportionately Arrested, Sentenced for Drug Crimes
  • Massachusetts Study Critical of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing: Black, Hispanic, Poor Defendants More Likely To Go To Prison

• September - October 1997
  • Michigan Considers Reform of Mandatory Minimums
  • Federal Judges Call Mandatory Minimums a Failure
     
• August 1997
  • Reduction in Crack-Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity Proposed by Clinton Administration
     
• May - June 1997
  • Sentencing Commission Proposes Reduction In Disparity In Powder and Crack Cocaine Sentences
  • Consideration of Bias Claim in Crack Cocaine Sentencing Declined by Supreme Court
  • Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Not Cost Effective, Says New Research Report From RAND
  • Drug Laws in New York State Violate International Law Primarily Because of Long Mandatory Minimums, Says Human Rights Watch Report
     
• December 1996
  • Cocaine Sentencing Disparity Should Be Reduced, According to Study in JAMA
    

• April 1996
  • Center Releases Report on African American Men in California Criminal Justice System
     
• January 1996
  • Judge Reluctantly Follows Guidelines, Apologizes to Defendants
     
• December 1995
  • Clinton Signs Bill To Disapprove of Equalizing Crack-Powder Cocaine Sentences
  • Massachusetts Panel Reviews Mandatory Minimum Sentencing; Issues Strong Report and Legislation
     
• November 1995
  • Congress Moves Closer to Blocking Crack Amendments
     
• October 1995
  • Solvent Is Not LSD "Carrier Medium" For Sentencing Purposes
  • Judge Reviews Prosecutions and Finds No Discrimination
  • Senate Holds Hearings on Crack Cocaine Sentencing
  • American Bar Association Endorses Sentencing Commission's Crack Cocaine Guidelines Amendments
  • House Speaker Gingrich Proposes Increased Death Penalties for Drug Dealers
     
• September 1995
  • House Holds Hearings on Crack/Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity
  • Supreme Court Rules on Double Jeopardy Sentencing Issue
  • Supreme Court Agrees to Hear LSD Carrier Medium Case

• May 1995
  • Wisconsin Court Upholds, California Legislature Reconsiders "Smoke a Joint" Laws

• September 1995
  • House Holds Hearings on Crack/Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity
  • Supreme Court Rules on Double Jeopardy Sentencing Issue
  • Supreme Court Agrees to Hear LSD Carrier Medium Case

• April 1995
  • U.S. Sentencing Commission Recommends Equalizing Crack-Powder Cocaine Guidelines and Statutes
  • Iowa Governor Vetoes Legislation to End Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Nonviolent Drug Offenders

• March 1995
  • U.S. Sentencing Commission Releases Long-Awaited Report on Crack/Powder Sentences
  • Downward Departure Allowed for Low-Level Drug Organization Employees
  • Court Strikes Down Guideline Reform; Rules That LSD Weight Plus Weight of Carrier Used Should Decide Sentence
  • Court Rules Prior Convictions Count Individually Toward "Three-Time Loser Law" Even If Incidents Were Part of the Same Operation

• February 1995
  • New York Governor Pataki Pledges Reform of Harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws
  • Supreme Court Will Rule on Key Double Jeopardy Issue

• September 1995
  • House Holds Hearings on Crack/Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity
  • Supreme Court Rules on Double Jeopardy Sentencing Issue
  • Supreme Court Agrees to Hear LSD Carrier Medium Case

• January 1995
  • Another Federal Judge Refuses to Hear Drug Cases
  • D.C. Court Upholds Disparate Cocaine Sentencing Scheme
  • Court Upholds Sentence Based on the Total Drug Amount Carried by Group

• November 1994
  • D.C. Eliminates Drug Mandatory Minimums
  • "Three Strikes" Striking Out With California Judges & D.A.s
  • Major Revision of Sentencing Guidelines Contemplated

• April 1993
  • Drug Users Treated Much More Harshly Than Drunk Drivers, Study Shows
  • William Raspberry: Treat Drug Abuse, Alcohol Abuse the Same