U.S. Sentencing Guidelines And The ACCA
You may remember earlier this year when the United States Sentencing Commission proposed two key amendments. The first affected the armed career criminal enhancement and whether or not they could use state offenses as a predicate to either this enhancement or the 851 enhancement.
The other proposed amendment dealt with the disparity between sentencing for pure methamphetamine and mixed methamphetamine. Both of these amendments were skipped over on April 30th, 2025, when the United States Sentencing Commission promulgated the amendments.
They will go into effect on November 1st.
However, both of these amendments are back on the table for the 2025-2026 amendment cycle.
If you have a loved one in federal prison, especially one who could benefit from these changes, this is what you need to do.
Google the United States Sentencing Commission and go to their website. View the proposed amendments for the 2025-2026 cycle.
You will find the public hearing dates for proposed amendments and the dates they intend to vote on these amendments.
When they open the doors to invite public comment on proposed amendments, send a message in favor of these amendments (if you actually agree, of course) and push for retroactivity as part of the amendment guidelines.
Unfortunately, while some positive changes were made to the sentencing guidelines, none of the aforementioned major changes many families were looking forward to made it onto the books this time. Hopefully we can get it right this year.