Home : Drug Policy

ACLU Hopes Candidates Won’t Make Straw Man of Sensible Sentencing Reforms (01/07/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office, a non-partisan organization, believes Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) was mistaken when she called ending mandatory minimum sentences a controversial position. The organization urges all candidates, from all parties, to oppose mandatory minimum sentencing and support legislation to close the sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine.

ACLU Joins Representative Jackson-Lee’s Call for Sentencing Fix (12/18/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today joined Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) at a press conference calling for a fix to the unfair federal crack cocaine sentencing policy. The ACLU also urged Congress to support Rep. Jackson-Lee’s recently introduced legislation, H.R. 4545, the “Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2007.” This bill would eliminate sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine as well as the current mandatory minimum for simple possession. In addition, the legislation establishes grants for drug treatment programs, gives the U.S. Sentencing Commission discretion to review sentencing enhancements for crack offenses, and attempts to focus federal resources on major drug dealers.

ACLU Cheers USSC Decision to Apply New Drug Sentencing Guidelines Retroactively (12/11/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s decision to apply recent changes in federal crack cocaine sentencing guidelines retroactively. Thousands of offenders were sentenced under the previous guidelines, which unfairly and erroneously required them to serve more than the mandatory minimum sentence required by law. Thanks to the USSC’s decision, such offenders will now have the opportunity to appear before the court and have their case reviewed by a judge.

Supreme Court Gives Judges Greater Leeway in Drug Sentencing (12/10/2007)
NEW YORK – By a 7-2 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in Kimbrough v. United States that it is no longer mandatory for federal judges to adhere to the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which provide for disparate sentences for crack and cocaine offenses. The United States Sentencing Commission has itself rejected the 100:1 disparity as unreasonable.

ACLU Sets the Record Straight on Federal Drug Sentencing Retroactivity (12/03/2007)
Washington, D.C. – The American Civil Liberties Union today reiterated its support of retroactivity for defendants serving longer sentences than required by federal law after the question was raised in this weekend’s presidential debate. The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) last month changed federal sentencing guidelines to make sure people would not serve more than the federal mandatory minimum sentence for crack offenses. The USSC is now considering whether to make those changes to the guidelines retroactive, applying them to offenders currently in prison, not just those who were arrested before the new guidelines were implemented.

Hawaii Governor Refuses to Retract Teacher Drug Testing Policy (11/15/2007)
HONOLULU – The American Civil Liberties Union condemned Governor Lingle’s refusal to retract a policy that will subject as many as 13,500 public school employees, including teachers,librarians and many administrative workers to random drug testing. Saying that the drug testing program violates adults’ constitutional right to privacy and is ineffective and costly, the ACLU announced today that it will file suit imminently in federal court.

ACLU Urges USSC to Restore Fairness to Federal Drug Sentencing (11/13/2007)
Washington, DC – On November 1, as a result of corrective action by the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC), the federal sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine were brought back in line with the mandatory minimum statute. The ACLU now urges the USSC to take the additional step of making such changes retroactive, a move that would go a long way toward increasing parity and justice in cocaine sentencing.

ACLU Praises USSC for Change to Federal Drug Sentencing Guidelines (11/01/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today praised the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) for taking action to bring the guideline ranges for crack cocaine federal sentences back in line with the mandatory minimum statute. As a result of the previous guidelines, crack cocaine defendants sentenced to the mandatory minimums often served many more months than required by the law for their offense.

ACLU Issues Official Demand for Governor to Halt Random Drug Testing of Educators (10/04/2007)
HONOLULU - The American Civil Liberties Union served Governor Lingle a formal demand letter today calling for an end to the State’s plan to randomly drug test many public school employees, including teachers and librarians. The ACLU has so far been contacted by more than 150 educators seeking to challenge the random drug testing policy.