Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo Friday directing federal prosecutors to charge defendants with "the most serious, readily provable offense" that carries "the most substantial guidelines sentence," The Washington Post reports.
The "Sessions Memo" is a dramatic reversal from the policies of President Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder Jr., who in 2013 directed prosecutors to avoid triggering mandatory minimum sentences with defendants who met certain criteria and were facing drug-related charges:
The new policy revokes Holder's previous guidance to prosecutors to not specify the quantity of drugs in the charges they brought to avoid triggering mandatory minimum sentences — provided the defendant did not have a significant criminal history, was not violent, or was not a leader of an organization or tied to a gang.That was particularly significant, because large quantities of drugs typically forced judges to impose stiff sentences — 10 years for a kilogram of heroin, five kilograms of cocaine, or 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. Prosecutors, too, could use the threat of a mandatory minimum penalty to facilitate plea bargains, and some were irked that Holder's memo stripped them of that tool. [The Washington Post]
"The new policy is expected to lead to more federal prosecutions and an increase in the federal prison population," The Washington Post writes, noting that the memo marks the Trump administration bringing back "the toughest practices of the drug war."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK ParliamentSpeed Read
-
Judge denies Mark Meadows' request to move Georgia case to federal court
Speed Read
-
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dies at 75
Speed Read
-
Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor
Speed Read
-
Judge schedules Trump federal election plot trial for crowded March 2024
Speed Read
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
-
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin ally-turned-rival, presumed dead in plane crash
Speed Read
-
Mar-a-Lago IT director flipped on Trump after dropping Trump-linked lawyer, special counsel says
Speed Read
