On March 20, 2013, a new bipartisan bill was proposed that would potentially mitigate some of the harsh prison sentences which are currently required under federal mandatory minimum laws for people convicted of federal crime such as drug trafficking and child pornography distribution.  This bill suggests the creation of a new “safety valve” provision that would enable Judges to sentence federal offenders below the statutory mandatory minimums when the Judge makes specific findings that imposing the mandatory minimum sentence in a particular case would not be in accordance with the goals of sentencing under 18 USC §3553 and a case in which the defendant is found not to be a threat to public safety.

Currently, in federal law there is a “safety valve” provision which is only applicable to those convicted of federal drug offenses who also meet the following 5 criteria: 1) no one was harmed during the offense;
2) the offender has essentially no criminal history; 3) the offender did not use violence or a gun; and 4) the offender was not a leader or organizer of the offense; and 5) the offender provided truthful information to  the prosecutor about the offense, others, and his/her role. Therefore the currently safety valve is very limited and does not apply in a majority of federal cases. The new proposed safety valve law would allow the Judges more discretion to sentence federal defendants below the mandatory minimum sentences in all types of federal cases (if warranted).

As a federal criminal defense attorney, I certainly see this as a step in the right direction to help reduce unjust, mandatory minimum sentences but I also am concerned that this is a Band-Aid solution to a bigger problem: mandatory minimum sentences have no place in a society that prides itself on having  a fair and just criminal justice system.    Only time will tell if this bill passes, and gives some discretion back to the Judges in some of the most difficult federal cases that contain mandatory minimum sentences but I also hope this type of proposed sentencing reform will ultimately signal the beginning, of the end, of mandatory minimum sentences.