WEBVTT - What the Criminal Justice Overhaul Means

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Bloomberg Law Podcast. I'm June Grosso. Every

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<v Speaker 1>day we bring you insight and analysis into the most

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<v Speaker 1>important legal news of the day. You can find more

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<v Speaker 1>episodes of the Bloomberg Law Podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud

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<v Speaker 1>and on Bloomberg dot com slash podcasts. On this vote,

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<v Speaker 1>the seven the nays are twelve on this motion to

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<v Speaker 1>concur in the House amendment with an amendment has been

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<v Speaker 1>agreed to, and with that, the Criminal Justice reform bill,

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<v Speaker 1>called the First Step Act, pass the Senate on Tuesday.

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<v Speaker 1>Now the overhaul of criminal sentence and guidelines goes onto

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<v Speaker 1>the House, a rare chance for President Trump to score

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<v Speaker 1>a bipartisan victory. Here to talk about the First Step

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<v Speaker 1>Act is pre Ragavan, counsel at the Brennan Center's Justice

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<v Speaker 1>Program at n y U. So, what are some of

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<v Speaker 1>the most egregious problems with the current sentencing guidelines that

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<v Speaker 1>this act would correct? Some of the most egregious problems

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<v Speaker 1>um stem from mandatory minimum sentencing. One thing that the

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<v Speaker 1>Act will correct is it will reduce mandatory minimums for

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<v Speaker 1>certain repeat drug offenses from twenty years to fifteen years

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<v Speaker 1>and then also from life to twenty five years. The

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<v Speaker 1>bill also will retroactively apply the Fair Sentencing Act. So, um,

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<v Speaker 1>before two ten, the disparity between crack cocaine and powder

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<v Speaker 1>cocaine and sentencing was a hundred to one, and the

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<v Speaker 1>Fair Sentencing Act changed that in two thousand ten, but

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't applied retroactively, so those people who were sentenced

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<v Speaker 1>before the Act was passed, we're still languishing in prison

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<v Speaker 1>under the old rules. So this Act would actually apply

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<v Speaker 1>the Fair Sentencing Act retro actively. There's also some um

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<v Speaker 1>draconian sentencing enhancements. They're called stacking. It's a nickel term,

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<v Speaker 1>but um, it's twenty five years sentence enhancements for certain

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<v Speaker 1>drug crimes. And the First Step Act would reduce those

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<v Speaker 1>sentencing enhancements and fix them. Um. And then finally, the

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<v Speaker 1>Act also expands the Safety Valve, which gives judges more

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<v Speaker 1>discretion to sentence below mandatory minimums, and the First Step

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<v Speaker 1>Act expands the use of the Safety Valve to more offenders.

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<v Speaker 1>California Democratic Senator Kamala Harris voted for the bill, but

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<v Speaker 1>on Monday took to Twitter to stress her dissatisfaction with it,

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<v Speaker 1>saying that it's a compromise of a compromise, and we

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<v Speaker 1>ultimately need to make far greater reforms to correct the

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<v Speaker 1>wrongs in the criminal justice system. Will you explain that

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<v Speaker 1>and whether you agree that it's a compromise of a compromise. Yeah, so,

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<v Speaker 1>so what Senator Harris was referring to is UM the

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<v Speaker 1>first step back. Sentencing reforms are drawn from the Sentencing

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<v Speaker 1>Reform and Corrections Act UM, which is a bill that

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<v Speaker 1>was championed by Senators Grassley in urban Um that that

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<v Speaker 1>has been pending in the Senate. And that bill, the

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<v Speaker 1>Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, was itself a compromise, and

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<v Speaker 1>then UH some of the provisions were taken from it

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<v Speaker 1>and put into first step UM, making it UM in

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<v Speaker 1>certain ways weaker than the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act

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<v Speaker 1>because a lot of the provisions UH no longer apply

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<v Speaker 1>retroactively in first steps. So basically it drew UM certain

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<v Speaker 1>provisions from already a compromised bill and then compromised it

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<v Speaker 1>even further. UM. I do agree with Senator Harris that

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<v Speaker 1>there's there's definitely much more work to be done. And

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<v Speaker 1>this this bill is exactly what it's title promises. That's

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<v Speaker 1>the first step and UH more needs to be done

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<v Speaker 1>to to you know, reduce the inequalities in our in

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<v Speaker 1>our system and to end as incarceration. This has been

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<v Speaker 1>described as a most significant change to prison sentencing laws,

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<v Speaker 1>and the revamp of sentencing rules was a priority of

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<v Speaker 1>the Obama administration. How did it become a priority of

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<v Speaker 1>the Trump administration? UM, that's a that's a great question.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, this, this bill itself, UM seems to be

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<v Speaker 1>evidence that UM, you know, it is um some kind

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<v Speaker 1>of priority for the Trump administration. UM. It remains to

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<v Speaker 1>be seen, you know, UM, what will happen in the

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<v Speaker 1>future on criminal justice and and hopefully it will become

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<v Speaker 1>a priority. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had said for

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<v Speaker 1>weeks that he was unlikely to bring the bill to

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<v Speaker 1>the floor. Explain what went on behind the scenes and

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<v Speaker 1>how this was a victory for Jared Kushner. Yeah, absolutely so. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>Jared Jared Kushner has been has been working UM very

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<v Speaker 1>hard to um make sure that this still moved forward, UM,

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<v Speaker 1>and and has been working hard to ensure that the

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<v Speaker 1>bill um was uh something that the Trump was on

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<v Speaker 1>board with. On On top of that, UM, the drafters

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<v Speaker 1>of the bill UH, UM and and kind of the

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<v Speaker 1>main negotiators the senator Senators Grassley, Senators durban Um, who

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<v Speaker 1>are who are actually the directors of the Sentencing Reform

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<v Speaker 1>and Corrections Act where a lot of these sentencing provisions

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<v Speaker 1>were drawn from. Also, UM did a ton of work

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<v Speaker 1>behind the scenes, UM, you know, ensuring that they were

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<v Speaker 1>able to get more UM, more votes UM, and ensure

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<v Speaker 1>that the bill UM wasn't UM watered down to too badly.

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<v Speaker 1>What's the next step it goes to the House. Is

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<v Speaker 1>it likely to pass the House? I do think that

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<v Speaker 1>it's likely that it passes the House, and then once

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<v Speaker 1>it passes in the House, then it goes to the

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<v Speaker 1>President for signing. Thanks so much, Preya. That's Preya rag Evn,

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<v Speaker 1>counsel at the Brendan Senters Justice Program at New York University.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to the Bloomberg Law Podcast. You can

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<v Speaker 1>subscribe and listen to the show on Apple podcast, SoundCloud,

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<v Speaker 1>and on Bloomberg dot com slash podcast. I'm June Grosso.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg m