Published on: Friday, June 11, 2021

During Thursday's meeting, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a pair of criminal justice reform bills. Both pieces of legislation saw degrees of bipartisan support, however (press release available here).

The first, the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act, would limit the consideration of criminal charges for which an individual was found not guilty by a federal court at sentencing. The bill aims to keep courts from piling on additional sentences for related allegations for which someone was not convicted.

The other bill considered is the First Step Implementation Act.  Among the bill's major provisions, it would apply the First Step Act's sentencing reforms to sentences ordered prior to the 2018 bill's enactment and broaden the "safety valve," which lets courts sentence below a mandatory minimum for nonviolent controlled substance offenses.