Lexington, South Carolina Criminal Law Blog

A recent provocative show on the National Public Radio show, Fresh Air, involved an interview with a legal scholar who has recently written a book that examines racism in the criminal justice system in the U.S. The legal scholar is an African American woman and used to work as a criminal defense attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. She also used to work with people who were recently released from prison in order to help them get reintegrated into society.

Through her work and research she came to believe that the Jim Crow laws that used to keep African Americans from full, equal participation in society are still alive in the way that massive numbers of African Americans, particularly young African American men, are imprisoned. The scholar pointed out in the interview that more African American people are currently in jail, prison or under probation or parole than were slaves in 1850.

As discussed in the previous post, the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA) of 2010 recently went into effect retroactively in order to reduce the unjust disparity between mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of drug crimes involving crack cocaine versus powder cocaine. People who are currently serving overly long sentences for crack cocaine convictions can apply to have their sentences reduced.

As mentioned in the previous post, the Fair Sentencing Act will reduce the disparity between prison sentences for crack cocaine versus powder cocaine to 18 to 1. Previously, people who were convicted of drug crimes involving crack cocaine received sentences 100 times longer than those convicted of comparable drug crimes involving powder cocaine.

The move to apply the FSA retroactively is considered by many interested in criminal defense and civil rights as one of the most exciting developments in criminal justice in 2011, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Thousands of prisoners with crack cocaine convictions have a reason to celebrate. The Fair Sentencing Act, passed into law by Congress in summer 2010, has recently gone into effect retroactively. This means that the average sentence for those convicted of possessing or distributing crack cocaine will be reduced by three years.

About 1,800 prisoners have already been released as a result of the new law and 12,000 prisoners are currently in a position to request a shorter sentence. But before any sentence is reduced, a judge must determine that the release of the prisoners will not pose a danger to the community.

As discussed in the previous post, a recent investigative report by ProPublica and The Washington Post found that there is significant racial disparity in the presidential pardons process. According to ProPublica, white applicants are four times more likely to be granted a pardon than minority applicants.

The federal prison population is 38 percent African American inmates. But of the 500 applications for presidential pardon that ProPublica examined no African American applicants were successful. On the other hand, 12 percent of white applicants and 10 percent of Hispanic applicants were successful. Overall, ProPublica believes between 2 and 4 percent of African American applications are successful.

ProPublica, along with The Washington Post, recently did an investigative report into the presidential pardons system in the U.S. What the journalists found is that white applicants are almost four times more likely than minorities to receive a pardon from the president.

A pardon forgives a federal crime. A pardon is not like an expungement, and the conviction will still stay on a person's record, but they will no longer suffer the loss of certain rights and privileges that go along with a felony conviction, such as not being able to vote or apply to certain jobs or for certain professional licenses.

Should judges be on Facebook? That is a question in the murder case of Murfreesboro Tennessee State University (MTSU) basketball star Tina Stewart. However, it applies everywhere, including South Carolina.

The Wilmington, North Carolina, police and others are turning their focus to prescription drug fraud. An undercover investigator purchased the pain medication Percocet from a Wilmington doctor who has now been charged with drug trafficking. This case reflects a shift in priorities from trying to catch international drug traffickers to looking closer to home - at the local medical community.

South Carolina has unveiled its program of stepped-up drunk driving enforcement, just in time for the holidays. Sober or Slammer, as the program is called, is designed to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities caused by drivers who get in the car after one too many. The traditional reasons to not drive after drinking are your safety and that of others as well as the legal consequences of a DUI arrest and conviction, This year, however, law enforcement asks drivers in the state to consider another reason before driving under the influence - money.