IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
INRE: Defender Motions for Sentence Reductions Under
Section 404 of the First Step Act
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
1) Section 404 of the First Step Act, enacted December 21, 2018,
applies to "a violation of a Federal criminal statute, the statutory penalties for
which were modified by section 2 or 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (Public
Law 111-220; 124 Stat. 2372) , that was committed before August 3, 2010," and
provides that the court may "impose a reduced sentence as if sections 2 and 3 of
the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 ... were in effect at the time the covered offense
was committed. "
2) A committee consisting of representatives of the United States
Attorney's Office, the Federal Defenders Association, and the Probation Office
("the committee") reviewed the files of all defendants who may be eligible for
relief under Section 404, in order to assess eligibility. The parties agreed that a
number of defendants were eligible for a sentence reduction, and submitted
proposed orders to the courts to this effect.
3) The parties have identified many additional cases that present
various unresolved legal issues that must be resolved by the courts. These issues
include, inter alia, the scope of a proceeding under the Fair Sentencing Act, the
extent of the permissible reduction, if any, and the applicability of
Apprendi/Alleyne and Booker in this context. The Defenders have advised that
they will file motions for sentence reductions in 30 cases, and may file motions in
an additional 30 to 40 cases. The Defenders have filed more than 20 motions
since April 4, 2019.
4) Although the government intends to file its responses as
expeditiously as possible, in order to allow the government sufficient time to
organize and respond to the motions in an orderly fashion, the government shall
have a minimum of 45 days from the date of this Order to respond to the pending
motions, and at least 45 days from the date of filing to respond to any future
motions. No hearing shall be scheduled in any case until the government has filed
a response and th e court has had the opportunity to assess the issues and
determine if a hearing is warranted. The government will advise in its response if
it agrees that a hearing should be scheduled.
Accordingly, on this 26th day of April, 2019, it is hereby ORDERED that
the government shall have 45 days from the date of this Order to respond to any
pending Defender motions for sentence reductions under Section 404 of the First
Step Act, and sh all have at least 45 days from the date of filing to respond to any
future Defender motions. No h earings shall be scheduled until the government
has filed a response and the court has determined that a hearing is warranted.
BY THE COU RT:
ef United States District Judge
