Statement of Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice before the United States Senate, Committee On The Judiciary, Subcommittee On Crime And Drugs.

Presented Arpil 29, 2009

An Introduction to Federal Sentencing

For nearly a quarter century, the federal government has struggled with its sentencing policy—particularly its policy on the scope of judicial sentencing authority. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 revolutionized sentencing, replacing traditional judicial discretion with far more limited authority, controlled by a complex set of mandatory federal sentencing guidelines promulgated by a new agency, the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Sentencing practice was again fundamentally altered by the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), which excised the mandatory-guideline provisions of the Sentencing Reform Act, rendering them merely advisory.
 
The policy struggle is far from over. While Booker returned discretion to the sentencing judge, it left open many questions about the scope of that discretion, and did not address the changes in sentencing procedure that the newly advisory guidelines might require. The Supreme Court has begun to answer these questions in a series of important decisions about post-Booker sentencing practice, decisions that are only beginning to have their full impact in sentencing courts around the country. What does this mean for defense counsel? That we must be prepared to practice in a time of potential change, and great opportunity.

SEARCH Survey on State Compliance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)

April 2009

Summary

Not one of the 47 states that responded to questions in a recent survey will meet the July 2009 compliance deadline for implementing the sex offender registration and notification standards required by the Adam Walsh Act.

The seven-question email survey of the states was conducted in February 2009 by SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics.

Title I of the Walsh Act, titled the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act or SORNA for short, sets minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States that, in many instances, are stricter than those established by individual states.

States that fail to comply with SORNA requirements by July 27, 2009, risk losing 10 percent of their funding under the federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grant.

States may apply for two one-year extensions of the deadline. Not surprisingly, almost all of the states responding to the survey expect to file for extensions and a few have already received them.