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On October 17, 2008, The Buffalo News published an op-ed by CJPF President Eric E. Sterling. The op-ed, Mandatory minimums unjust - and they don't work, is based on a new report from Families Against Mandatory Minimums that analyzed the failure of the federal mandatory minimums of the 1950s, the political consensus that repealed them in 1970, the lack of any re-election problems for Members of Congress who voted for the repeal, and the need to repeal mandatory minimums today. FAMM simultaneously released a poll reporting that 6 out of 10 Americans want Congress to repeal mandatory minimum sentences.
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ESPN's Michael Weinreb reports on the death of basketball star Len Bias from cocaine on June 19, 1986, and the consequences for his family, his community and the nation. CJPF President Eric E. Sterling is quoted in this detailed report.
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The cover story the June 1, 2008 The Washington Post Magazine is about a man whose 19 year prison sentence was commuted by President Bush last winter. Michael Short got that long sentence because of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 that Eric E. Sterling helped write. He is quoted several times in the story.
This story helps explain why CJPF has been working with people trying to reform the law since 1989. Eric E. Sterling's analysis of the larger drug enforcement problem, was used by one of the vice chairmen of the U.S. Sentencing Commission to challenge the Justice Department's defense of its outrageous misuse of this law.
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On May 18, 2008, Eric E. Sterling spoke to an adult forum at the River Road Unitarian Universalist Church, Bethesda, MD, about the crack cocaine sentencing laws. His comments followed a showing of the documentary film, A Perversion of Justice, by Rev. Melissa Mummert, which tells the story of a young single mother of three, Hamedah Hasan, who was initially sentenced to life in prison for her minor criminal role in the household of her cousin, an Omaha, Nebraska crack dealer.
Ms. Hasan has been in prison since 1993. She is scheduled to be released in 2016 notwithstanding the efforts of the U.S. District Judge who tried her case to reduce her sentence because the U.S. Justice Department repeatedly appealed the Judge's rulings.
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On May 15, 2008, Eric E. Sterling spoke in Pilgrim A.M.E. Church in Washington, DC, N.E. to the mentors of persons on under the supervision of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia about the effectiveness of faith based programs in corrections.
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On April 5, 2008 Eric E. Sterling spoke at the First Annual Symposium of the Criminal Law Brief at the Washington College of Law of American University in Washington, DC on a panel on the crack cocaine sentencing controversy.
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On Dec. 28, 2007, CJPF was cited by The St. Petersburg Times' in its report on the assertions of the Huckabee and Romney presidential campaigns about their records in granting clemency while they were each Governors of Arkansas and Massachusetts. CJPF maintains the nation's only comprehensive Internet guide to seeking clemency for persons convicted of crimes.
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The Washington Post published a letter to the editor from Eric E. Sterling on December 11, 2007:
Another Item for Mr. Mukasey's To-Do List
Tuesday, December 11, 2007; A20
That problem has been mislabeled as a problem in crack cocaine vs. powder cocaine sentencing and the 100-to-1 difference in crack and powder cocaine quantities that trigger mandatory minimum terms and sentencing guidelines. The true cause of the racial disparity has been the focus on mostly low-level and retail drug cases in U.S. attorney's offices around the nation, as revealed by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
For years, top Justice Department managers have tolerated this misfocus. Mr. Mukasey should order that only drug cases with national or international significance be brought in federal court. Leave all retail cases -- crack cocaine, medical marijuana dispensaries, etc. -- to state prosecutors. The 5,800 prosecutors in U.S. attorney's offices and 5,000 Drug Enforcement Administration special agents are precious global anti-crime resources that Mr. Mukasey should not allow to be wasted on retail drug cases.
Eric E. Sterling
President
Criminal Justice Policy Foundation
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7 to 2 for Derrick Kimbrough on December 10, 2007. For the next half year, the opinion can be found at this website.
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Eric E. Sterling was quoted in USA Today on November 6, 2007 in a story about a new device to instantly detect the presence of methamphetamine. He outlined a couple of scenarios in which the device might be used that raise the question of whether the evidence is a legitimate basis for a search or an arrest.
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Eric E. Sterling was quoted in the editorial of the San Francisco Chronicle November 5, 2007 on reductions in sentencing guidelines for federal crack cocaine offenses noting that evidence of progress in that no Member of Congress "took [the] opportunity to grandstand" by fighting the U.S. Sentencing Commission's proposal.
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On October 2, 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on the case of Kimbrough v. United States, No. 06-6330. Derrick Kimbrough pleaded guilty to distributing more than 50 grams of crack cocaine in a federal case. Since the Supreme Court's decision in Booker v. United States, 543 U.S. 220, (2005), sentencing guidelines are no longer mandatory but only advisory. Based on the quantities involved and Kimbrough's criminal history, his sentencing guideline range was 168 to 210 months imprisonment. The sentencing judge decided to depart downward from the advisory guidelines to the statutory mandatory minimum of 120 months. U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson (of the Eastern District of Virginia in which more crack cocaine cases are brought than in any other federal court in the nation) stated, "[i]t is the Court's humble view that to impose a [total] sentence of 19 to 22 years in this case is ridiculous," and criticized the "unjust" and "disproportionate" crack cocaine guidelines. The government appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the sentencing judge. Kimbrough appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was considering whether it was acceptable for a judge to depart downward because he disagreed with Congress's view that crack cocaine offenses deserved much longer sentences than powder cocaine offenses.
Eric E. Sterling was counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary responsible for helping to develop the crack cocaine and powder cocaine sentences in 1986. His paper, Getting Justice Off Its Junk Food Diet was quoted in at least one of the amicus briefs. Sterling attended the argument and was interviewed on National Public Radio's News and Notes and on KPFA-FM's program Flashpoints. Earlier that morning, the Supreme Court heard argument on the case of Gall v. United States, (No. 06-7949) which involved the question of a judge departing downward from the sentencing guidelines in an MDMA (ecstasy) case. Decisions in these cases should be handed down no later than June 2008.
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On Thursday, September 20, 2007, Eric E. Sterling spoke at the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church at 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, MD, from 1:00-2:30 p.m, on the country's current drug policy.
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On Tuesday, July 17, 2007, Eric Sterling spoke at the U.S. Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Honolulu, HI, on a panel entitled "Re-examining Drug Abuse Policy: Theory, Science, and Practice." His supplementary material questioning the legitimacy of classifying drug use as criminal behavior can be found here.
That evening, Eric Sterling spoke at a forum, "Are We Winning the Drug War?", hosted by the Hawai'i House Judiciary Committee. The forum included Hawai'i Circuit Judge Steven Alm of Honolulu and Superior Court Judge James P. Gray of California.
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On July 17, 2007, Eric Sterling was interviewed by Wayne Yoshioka during the Morning Edition of Hawai'i Public Radio (KHPR-FM); and by KITV Channel 10 (ABC) for the late news. He was interviewed on KHON Channel 2 at 6 a.m. on July 18, representing Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
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On July 6, 2007, the Sacramento Bee published an article addressing the recent UN Annual Drug Report. Reporter Frank Greve quoted Eric Sterling on how optimism over supply reduction may be misplaced, since the nature of the drug war has not changed.
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On July 2, 2007, USA Today published a story on the FBI’s decision to recruit District of Columbia teenagers to train in its headquarters and field office. Eric Sterling is quoted by Kevin Johnson on how an unusual applicant pool does not necessarily mean a greater security risk.
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Eric Sterling spoke on July 5, 2007, as part of the Video and Speaker Series entitled "Intersections in the War on Drugs," which is being held this summer by the Institute for Policy Studies. IPS screened the film "Snitch" and Mr. Sterling spoke about the current state of mandatory minimum sentencing and the use of informants in today's criminal justice system. Other speakers in the series include William Byrd of the World Bank and Keith Stroup, founder of NORML.
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In an article published by the Bucks County Courier Times of Pennsylvania on June 30, 2007, reporter Daniel Lovering of the Associated Press questions the genesis and effectiveness of the National Drug Intelligence Center. He quotes Eric Sterling on the limited value of the center.
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Blogger Radley Balko cites Eric Sterling on the Justice Department’s failure to evaluate the more productive approach to prosecuting crack and cocaine cases undertaken by the eight U.S. attorneys fired by Gonzales last year in this post from June 28, 2007, posted on TheAgitator.com.
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Eric Sterling submitted a written statement to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security for the record of its hearing on June 26, 2007, regarding the crack and powder cocaine mandatory minimum sentences. Sterling was assistant counsel to this Subcommittee between 1979 and 1989. He also staffed the development of the mandatory minimum sentences in question in 1986. In this statement, he argues that a great deal of the assertions made about the origin and congressional intent in setting quantity triggers at 5 and 50 grams for crack and 500 and 5000 grams for powder are myths. A more important and effective approach to fixing the injustices suffered by low-level crack and powder offenders, says Sterling, would go beyond simply "fixing" the 100 to 1 ratio of the crack to powder quantity triggers.
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The San Francisco Chronicle published a piece on June 26, 2007, written by columnist Debra Saunders, regarding the recent Supreme Court decision on the case often referred to as the “BONG HiTS 4 JESUS” case. Saunders quoted Eric Sterling in her analysis of the opinions.
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On June 1, 2007, The Birmingham News quoted CJPF President Eric E. Sterling in an article about an upcoming town hall meeting in Birmingham Alabama. The meeting will focus on the sentencing disparity between federal crack and powder cocaine cases.
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On May 16, 2007, Los Angeles Daily Journal reporter Lawrence Hurley quoted CJPF President Eric E. Sterling in his article, "Panel trashes sentence ratio for cocaine". Mr. Sterling discusses the need for the federal government to focus on high-level cocaine cases rather than low-level cases. A .pdf of the article is available here.
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On May 16, 2007, msnbc.com reporter Karen Huus quotes CJPF president Eric E. Sterling in her article, "Making a federal case of an obscure leaf." The article explores the government's crackdown on khat, a drug grown in Africa and chewed for its stimulant properties.
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Eric E. Sterling, J.D., President of The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, spoke on "The Morality of American Drug Policy" to the Unitarian - Universalist Group at Leisure World -- Rossmoor, in Aspen Hill, Maryland, on Tuesday, April 24, 2007
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Eric E. Sterling was invited to testify before the U.S. Sentencing Commission on March 20, 2007 regarding cocaine sentencing policy. In addition to his oral statement, he also submitted a written statement. Click here to download his statement.
Mr. Sterling's comments are summarized on page B-22 of the report of the USSC to Congress issued on May 15, 2007. You can download the entire report here.
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On March 20, 2007, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra J. Saunders quoted CJPF President Eric E. Sterling in her latest column, "Schoolhouse prankster at the gate." Sterling discusses the important Frederick v Morse case, which was heard before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 19, 2007.
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On March 16, 2007, CJPF President Eric E. Sterling was featured in the Drug Truth Network's "Century of Lies" podcast, along with Prof. William Martin and Maia Szalavitz. Click here to download the mp3.
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On March 9, 2007, the Baltimore Examiner quoted Eric E. Sterling in an article about the recent seizure of vehicles by police in Annapolis, Maryland, from individuals arrested for possessing a small amount of marijuana. Sterling suggests such seizures are excessive.
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On February 21, 2007, the Boston Globe printed an article juxtaposing a recently overruled "100-to-1 ratio" used to award damages in a tobacco case and the "100-to-1 ratio" used in crack-powder cocaine sentencing. The article mentioned CJPF president Eric E. Sterling and his work on the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity.
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On February 9, 2007, Eric E. Sterling spoke on a panel in Charlotte, SC following the showing of the film, Perversion of Justice. The film tells the story of Hamedah Hasan who is serving two life sentences in prison because she wired money to a family member who was selling drugs. On February 7, 2007, the Charlotte Observer printed an article about Hasan's case and the creation of the documentery.
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On February 7, 2007, Eric E. Sterling moderated a panel on "Medical Marijuana in New York" in New York, NY. The panel, sponsored by the New York City Bar Association, discussed proposed medical mariuana legislation for New York and the growing body of cases addressing this conflict between state and federal law.
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