Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015

The Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015 is the re-introduction of the The Smarter Sentencing Act of 2013 in which both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate had version drafted. The House of Representatives version is also known as H.R. 920 and was drafted by Raul Labrador, (R) ID on February 12, 2015. The Senate version of 2015 is known as S. 502 and was drafted by Mike Lee, (R). It is legislation focused on reducing the federal prison population and the strain on limited federal resources in the federal prison system. It amends the federal criminal code to direct the court to impose a sentence for certain offenses with discretionary regard to any statuary minimum sentence. It specifies that the most serious offenders be exempt from statuary minimum sentences which caused many of the very longest sentences.

History

The Senate version (S502) had gained 12 co-sponsors by late May of 2015; the house version (HR920) had 43 Bi-Partisan co-sponsors by the same date. The sponsorship was supported from both the Republican and Democratic parties. The House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary was the next step in the bill being passed into law.

Text

The original language in the bill references the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 and specific language detailing certain drug offenses. The original text reduces sentences by about half. As written ... "Sec. 4.Sentencing modifications for certain drug offenses

(a)Controlled Substances Act.—

The Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended— (1)in section 102 (21 U.S.C. 802), by adding at the end the following:

(57)The term “courier” means a defendant whose role in the offense was limited to transporting or storing drugs or money.

and

(2)in section 401(b)(1) (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1))— (A)in the flush text following clause (viii)—

(i)by striking “10 years or more” and inserting “5 years or more”; (ii)by striking “such person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment which may not be less than 20 years and” and inserting “such person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years and”; and (iii)by striking “mandatory term of life imprisonment without release” and inserting “term of imprisonment of not less than 25 years”; and

(B)in the flush text following clause (viii)— (i)by striking “5 years” and inserting “2 years”; and (ii)by striking “not be less than 10 years” and inserting “not be less than 5 years”..."

The text goes on further directing the United States Sentencing Commission to consider the safety of the public when reducing the sentences of offenders and the Attorney General to report on the results of the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015.