The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Terry v. United States on Monday that people convicted of certain low-level crack-cocaine offenses are not eligible for sentencing reductions under the First Step Act, a 2018 law that made some criminal-justice reforms retroactive. Previous coverage available here and here.
The ruling rejects the position taken by NACDL and the Biden administration, whom argued to the court that Congress intended for the First Step Act, which sought to address decades-old disparities in sentences for crack and powdered cocaine, to encompass low-level offenders. The court ruled the 2018 measure applies only to those convicted of possessing enough crack to trigger mandatory minimum sentences under federal law.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the ruling meant some people were “left behind,” and she called on lawmakers to act. “Fortunately, Congress has numerous tools to right this injustice.”
The justices were considering the case of Tarahrick Terry, who pleaded guilty to a drug charge after being caught in Miami in 2008 with 3.9 grams of crack in his pants pocket. As a repeat drug offender, Terry was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison and is scheduled for release in late September.