In the News

The Sentencing Commission has released FY25 Q3 data showing immigration cases driving the docket (35.7%), with drugs (25.6%) and firearms (12.3%) next, while overall variances from the Guidelines hold at 32% and government-sponsored reductions (5K1.1; fast-track pleas) make up a little over 15%. Median sentences span 6 months for immigration, 70 for drug trafficking, and 41 for firearms, with high-severity categories (CP, sexual abuse, murder) posting triple-digit medians. Regional differences have emerged, with border districts leaning on fast-track and imposing more within-Guideline-range sentences.

Recent data from the federal government reflects a notable drop in referrals for federal prosecutions from the DEA and ATF as DOJ reassigns thousands of agents to assist in immigration enforcement operations. Additional reporting shows that the trend is across federal agencies, which are devoting increasing man power and resources to immigration matters at the expense of building and prosecuting other types of criminal cases.

The 2025 Federal Sentencing Guidelines, set to take effect on November 1, 2025, include notable changes such as eliminating “departures” from the Guidelines, increasing judicial discretion in imposing terms of supervised release (and often in favor of leniency), and resolving circuit splits regarding enhancements for offenses involving “physical restraint,” “intervening arrests,” minor role reductions, firearms, and criminal history calculations.

Late last month, the U.S. Sentencing Commission delivered its annual proposed amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Accordingly, we’ve broken down the most significant changes, including a new prohibition on increasing a defendant’s sentence based on acquitted conduct, an amendment reinforcing the availability of intended loss and unlawful gain as measures for calculating a defendant’s loss amount, clarifying amendments regarding certain firearm enhancements, and a new downward departure for youthful offenders.

Zachary Newland of Newland Legal provides a detailed breakdown of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s proposed amendments to the Guidelines, which will be incorporated into the 2024 Guidelines Manual.

Zachary Newland of Newland Legal provides the Federal Docket with a detailed breakdown of the most important amendments to the Guidelines, as incorporated in the 2023 Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Last week, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to make a pair of Guidelines amendments retroactive, meaning they could apply to thousands of federal inmates serving time. Under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2),”in the case of defendant who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment based on a range that has subsequently been lowered by the Sentencing Commission…upon motion of the defendant …the court may reduce the term of imprisonment, after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent they are applicable ….” 

In a 4-3 vote, the Commission voted to make the “status points” amendment retroactive. Whereas a defendant previously received 2 points for committing an offense while under a term of supervision (probation, supervised release), the new Guidelines amendment will reduce the number of points or eliminates them completely for such offenders. By making this amendment retroactive to offenders who previously received the 2-point enhancement, almost 11,500 inmates are eligible for a potential sentence reduction. The average inmate would have had a lower Guidelines range by 14 months under the new Guidelines.

In another 4-3 vote, the Commission voted to make the “zero point offender” amendment retroactive. Under the new Guidelines, offenders will receive a 2-point reduction to their offense level if they have no criminal history and their offense does not present certain aggravating factors. Over 7,272 inmates would have been eligible for this reduction, and the average inmate would have had a lower Guidelines range by 15 months under the new Guidelines.

The retroactive amendments go into effect on February 1, 2024, though inmates can file motions for sentence reductions immediately.

In other Commission-related news, the Commission voted to consider additional policies such as “possible amendments to the Guidelines Manuel to prohibit the use of acquitted conduct in applying the guidelines.”

ast month, the Department of Justice released its “First Step Act Annual Report,” summarizing efforts to implement the sentencing reforms enacted under the First Step Act of 2018.he report covers the BOP’s implementation of its recidivism risk assessment (the controversial PATTERN score, which allegedly is racially biased), its implementation of recidivism-reducing programs that allow inmates to earn time off their sentences, the status of prison work programs, and other important reforms under the FSA.

The report also provides brief summaries of some of the most significant steps taken since the last report issued in April 2022 Among those developments, the BOP reports that it has finalized its policy for awarding “earned time credits” and has been awarding those credits as quickly as possible. The BOP also reports that it has expanded the use of home confinement for eligible inmates, wherein they allow inmates to serve the last months of their sentence in home confinement.

Yesterday, the U.S. Sentencing Commission issued a memorandum regarding the amendments to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and whether two amendments should apply retroactively– 1) the amendment that reduces the potential criminal history points assessed for defendants who commit their offense while under another sentence, and 2) the amendment providing a two-level downward adjustment for defendants with zero criminal history points.

In its conclusion, the Commission estimates that 11,49 offenders in BOP custody would have faced a lower sentencing range under the new amendment reducing the potential criminal history points for defendants who committed their offense while under another sentence. The average sentence reduction, based on those potential lower Guidelines ranges, would be 11.7, and 2,000 inmates would be eligible for release by November 1, 2023, when the amendments are slated to go into effect. Additionally, the Commission estimates that 7,272 inmates in BOP custody would have a lower Guidelines range if re-sentenced under the amendment providing a 2-level downward departure for having zero criminal history points, with an average reduction of 17.6%. An estimated 1,200 offenders would be eligible for release by November 1, 2023 if the amendment is made retroactive.

Last month, the Sentencing Commission released its annual report examining federal sentencing statistics across each judicial district and appellate circuit from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. The report breaks down sentencing trends by reference to the type of crime and the type of drug in drug cases, comparing post-plea sentences to post-trial sentences, examining incarceration rates for offenders eligible for non-prison sentences, measuring sentence length by type of crime, comparing the frequency of downward variances compared to within-Guidelines sentences, and other metrics.