FPD Blog
On June 21, 2012, the Supreme Court, in the jointly argued cases of Dorsey v. United States and Hill v. United States
, held in a 5-4 decision that the mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine-related offenses set forth in the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 apply to crimes committed before the Act's effective date of August 3, 2010 so long as the defendant is sentenced after that date. Justice Breyer wrote the opinion for the Court. Justice Scalia wrote a dissenting opinion which the Chief Justice and Justices Alito and Thomas joined. To see the...
On May 21, 2012, the Supreme Court agreed to review a jurisdictional issue (standing) regarding the right of private citizens to challenge some of the changes made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act during the last presidential administration. The challenges concern the ability of the government to carry out electronic surveillance, and are based on Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. To read more about this, please see our link under Law – Case Law – US Supreme Court.
On May 8, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit remanded for resentencing the case of United States v. Jackson because of the new sentencing guidelines promulgated as a result of the Fair Sentencing Act, which President Obama signed into law on August 3, 2010. The opinion for the first time clarifies that defendants who meet career offender criteria can nevertheless benefit from the lower sentencing ranges embodied in the new sentencing guidelines. To read more about this, please see our link under Law – Case Law – Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
On April 17, 2012, the Supreme Court heard arguments in United States v. Dorsey and United States v. Hill. The defendants in these cases were sentenced for committing crack cocaine trafficking violations prior to the effective date of the Fair Sentencing Act. The issue in these cases is whether the FSA applies to defendants who committed crack-related crimes before August 3, 2010 but are sentenced after this effective date of the FSA. To read more about this, please see our link under Law – Case Law – US Supreme Court.