1. 7-4
Drug Law

2. Goals
Understand mandatory minimums and how they differ from normal sentencing
Understand Federal Drug laws
Discuss rationales behind the laws

3. You be the judge What sentence should Atiba receive?
What key factors play into your decision?
Amount of drugs sold
Mental health problems
Prior arrests
Number of sales

4. Real life sentence MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES!
Atiba Parker got 42 years!
20 years for selling .23 grams
14 years for selling .07 grams
Possession of less than .1 grams of crack to show he was a habitual offender, adding 8 years to his sentence
Sentence to run consecutively
Why so high?????
MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES!

5. Mandatory minimum
A pre-determined sentence, created by Congress, which the court MUST give to the person convicted of a crime.
Judges typically have discretion in sentencing, meaning they can consider aggravating and mitigating factors. Mandatory minimums take this away!
Aggravating = especially bad
Mitigating = Sympathetic
List some Aggravating and Mitigating factors could be considered for Atiba?

6. History of mandatory minimums
Especially common with drug laws, because the federal law requires very strict punishments for drug use.
Congress created the current mandatory minimums for federal drug offenses in 1986 and 1988 as part of the so-called War on Drugs, or a policy that focused on stopping drug activity.
Since the War on Drugs began, over 260,000 people have received mandatory minimums for feral drug offenses.
cons

7. Mandatory Minimums Timeline
1986 – Mandatory Minimums introduced for “war on drugs”
1994 – Clinton passes the Violent Crime Control & Law Enforcement Act to issue harsher sentences
U.S. Sentencing Commission recommends that congress revisit mandatory minimums – Congress overrides recommendation
2003 – Congress creates, increases, or expands 40 minimum sentences

8. Timeline Continued…
2010 – Obama Administration passes Fair Sentencing Act aimed to lesson Federal prison population
2013 – Attorney General Eric Holder tells prosecutors to leave drug quantities out of charging documents to reduce “harsh” sentences.
2017 – Attorney General Jeff Sessions orders federal prosecutors to revive tough penalties on Federal drug charges.
drugs-u-s

9. Federal vs State Charges
Laws that govern controlled substances exist both in the state level and the federal level

10. Charges are likely to be Federal if:
The Jurisdiction of the Offense: The most common way to be charged under the federal laws is to be arrested by a federal officer. Local law enforcement may be working together with federal employees in a sting operation, or you may be arrested for having or using drugs on federal lands such as a national park. If the federal system is involved in any way, federal charges will result.
Someone Informed on You for Leniency: Judges or prosecutors will often show leniency when the accused is willing to inform on other people within the network. If someone informs on you and that informant was charged at the federal level, the charges against you will likely be federal charges.
Decisions between State and Employees: State and federal law enforcement branches are often intertwined for drug arrests. In some instances, the state and federal prosecutors will decide that the charges should be brought to federal court. This can happen because there the prison sentences are usually longer if the case is handled by federal authorities.
The Seriousness of the Offense: Federal charges will usually result when the offense is deemed more severe. Simple possession may be kept at the state level while offenses such as drug trafficking, manufacturing, or intent to distribute are more likely to be charged at a federal level. Any criminal acts that indicate that the participants may be conducting a serious criminal enterprise and making significant profit will face federal charges.

11. Exception
If the defendant meets all FIVE of the following criteria, the judge may sentence them below the mandatory minimum:
No one was harmed during the offense
The person has little to no history of criminal convictions
The person did not use violence or a gun
The person was not a leader or organizer of the offense AND
The person told the prosecutor all that he knows about the offense.

12. Hot Debate #2