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The Feeney Amendment (Title IV of S. 151, Public law 108-21) was signed into law on April 30, 2003. NACDL, its members and others put up a good fight, and the legislation would have been far worse without our efforts.
Current efforts focus on the Sentencing Comission's implementation and the JUDGES Act, which would repeal the Feeney Amendment provisions that are not limited to child abduction and sexual offenses.
You can help us save downward departures: If you have a case that illustrates the value and importance of departure decisions, please send a summary or citation to NACDL's Legislative Director, Kyle O'Dowd (kyle@nacdl.org).
We will continue to update this page with related developments and practical information.
- Judicial Conference Seeks Restoration of Judges' Sentencing Authority (9/23/03)
- Feeney fix introduced, 5/20/03: The JUDGES Act
- Final Version of the Feeney Amendment
- U.S. Sentencing Commission
- Legal Resources
- Reader-friendly Versions of Amended Statutes and Guidelines (prepared by Carmen Hernandez, Chair, NACDL Federal Sentencing Guidelines Committee)
- News Articles & Editorials
- "Justice by the numbers," by Richard Cohen, Washington Post, Mar. 11, 2004
- "Challenge to sentencing rules rebuffed," by Dan Christensen, Miami Daily Business Review, Feb. 4, 2004
- "Trials rise in US court as plea deals are spurned," by Thanassis Cambanis, Boston Globe, Feb. 1, 2004
- "Federal judge in New York City videotapes sentencing amid backlash over new law," by Tom Hays, Associated Press, Jan. 30, 2004
- "Ashcroft and Congress are pandering to punitive instincts," by Stuart Taylor, Jr., National Journal, Jan. 26, 2004
- "Senator urges Congress to rethink Feeney Amendment," by Brent Kendall, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Jan. 23, 2004
- "A judge's struggle to avoid imposing a penalty he hated," by Benjamin Weiser, New York Times, Jan. 13, 2004
- "Deaf ears for Rehnquist on sentencing," by Marcia Coyle, National Law Journal, Jan. 12, 2004
- "Rehnquist rings in new year with stern words to Congress," by Tony Mauro, Legal Times, Jan. 5, 2004
- "Chief justice attacks a law as infringing on judges," by Linda Greenhouse, New York Times, Jan. 1, 2004
- "Federal judicial discretion," National Law Journal Roundtable, Dec. 15, 2003 (Participants include NACDL Past President Gerald Lefcourt)
- "New York's federal judges protest sentencing procedures," by Ian Urbina, New York Times, Dec. 8, 2003
- "Federal judges aren't as lenient as lawmakers say, studies show," by Gary Fields and Jess Bravin, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 30, 2003
- "Studies question if sentencing is really as lenient as argued, by Gary Fields and Jess Bravin, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 30, 2003
- "Judge takes aim at Congress in sentencing U.N. shooter," New York Law Journal, Oct. 22, 2003
- "Ashcroft's plea ploy," Denver Post, Sept. 28, 2003
- "Ashcroft angers judges over sentencing," Associated Press, Sept. 30, 2003
- "Punishment issue splits Ashcroft, judges," Associated Press, by Gina Holland, Sept. 29, 2003
- "Rethinking the key thrown away," New York Times, by Paul von Zielbauer, Sept. 28, 2003
- "Judges in a stew over federal sentences, Guidelines seen as too rigid, unfair," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, by Linda Satter, Sept. 1, 2003
- "Sentencing modification gains some unlikely allies," Nashville City Paper, by Cokie Roberts and Steven Roberts, August 29, 2003
- "Legal doesn't always mean wise and just," San Francisco Chronicle, by Debra J. Saunders, August 17, 2003
- "When sentences don't make sense," Washington Post, by Frank O. Bowman III, August 15, 2003
- "Harsh sentences fail America," International Herald Tribune, August 13, 2003
- "The PROTECT Act's sentencing provisions and the Attorney General's controversial memo: An assault against the federal courts," FindLaw's Writ, Mark Allenbaugh, August 13, 2003
- "Under Ashcroft, Justice is blind and handcuffed," LA Times, Jonathan Turley, August 11, 2003
- "Blacklisting judges," New York Times, August 10, 2003
- "Eroding justice," Baltimore Sun, August 8, 2003
- "Ashcroft intensifies campaign against judges' soft sentences," Wall Street Journal, by Laurie P. Cohen and Gary Fields, August 6, 2003
- "Questions on Sentences," ABA Journal, by Margaret Graham Tebo, July 2003
- "Federal judges rebel over limits to sentencing power," Christian Science Monitor, by Seth Stern, July 8, 2003
- "US official tries to mend fences in Kauai," Honolulu Star-Tribune, by Anthony Sommer, June 26, 2003
- "Let judges do their jobs," New York Times, by John S. Martin, Jr., June 24, 2003
- "Give federal district judges' sentencing discretion back," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, by Jim Jenkins, June 9, 2003
- "Sentencing law targets US judges in Massachusetts," Boston Globe, May 30, 2003
- "Congress breathing down robes of federal judges," Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, May 8, 2003
- "Rehnquist warns on cataloging sentencing," Washington Post, May 5, 2003
- "With no sentencing leeway, what's left to judge?" Washington Post, May 4, 2003
- "A judicial witch hunt," New York Times, April 30, 2003
- "No time for judges," Legal Times, by Frank O. Bowman III, Apr. 21, 2003
- "Stealth bomber," Miami Daily Business Review, Apr. 15, 2003
- "Straitjackets for judges," New York Times, Apr. 14, 2003
- "Thwart this effort to tie judges' hands in sentencing," Newsday, Apr. 8, 2003
- "An ominous attack on judges," New York Times, Apr. 7, 2003
- "House without mercy," Washington Post, Apr. 4, 2003
- "Tightening the reins," ABA Journal e-report, Apr. 4, 2003
- "Why the pending bill that would limit federal judges' sentencing discretion even more should not be passed," by Edward Lazarus, Apr. 3, 2003
- "Drug sentencing probe worries bench," The Recorder, by Jason Hoppin, March 21, 2003
- Letters to Congress opposing the Feeney Amendment
- Legislative History
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National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
1660 L St., NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20036
(202) 872-8600 • Fax (202) 872-8690 •
assist@nacdl.org
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