The United States Supreme Court has recently passed down two decisions that could have an enormous impact on the lives of several federal inmates from the Flint, MI area convicted for weapons-related charges..
Up until recently, the Armed Career Criminal Act allowed federal courts to pursue lengthy sentences for federal defendants accused of felonies, if they had prior convictions for violent or drug related crimes. Specifically, the Act required that defendants receive a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison if they are convicted of any crime involving a firearm if they also have prior convictions for drug trafficking or violent felonies.
This only fueled the ‘zero tolerance’ fire, and in 2011 the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced, in conjunction with the Genesee County, MI Prosecutor’s Office, that they intended to start charging all gun possession cases through the federal system instead of the state system. That way, they could ensure much longer sentences.
Federal inmates now seeking shorter sentences
But the two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, namely the Johnson v. United States case in 2015, and the Welch v. United States ruling in 2016, appears to be limiting exactly who can be referred to as a “career criminal” by the courts. That means that a significant number of federal inmates from the Flint area who were once sentenced under the Act, are now seeking shorter sentences.
In the 2015 Johnson v. United States ruling, the court determined that “imposition of an increased sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act’s residual clause violates due process.” But while the Johnson ruling redefined how the court defined violent crime, it was the Welch ruling that allowed this to be applied retroactively to previous sentences.
In a statement released to the media, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade’s office stated that “The impact of the Johnson opinion is that some prisoners will be resentenced and ultimately released early. The exact number is not yet known, as the Supreme Court and various Courts of Appeal wade through a myriad of legal issues associated with applying Johnson to already-incarcerated defendants.”
Thus far, at least sixteen inmates have filed motions with the Flint U.S. District Court for early release and more are expected to follow. Not everyone who files an appeal will be granted a shorter sentence. According to U. S. Attorney McQuade, there are some cases in which her office will oppose motions to reduce sentences or will stipulate to the resentencing of defendants. “This is true of federal prosecutors’ offices around the country. Our decision to either stipulate or oppose the motions to reduce sentence will depend on the nature of a particular defendant’s prior conviction or convictions.”
For now, our federal criminal defense attorneys are ready to move forward with requests for resentencing for our incarcerated clients. If you have a loved one in federal prison, reach out to our defense team for help. We can be reached at 1 866-766-5245.