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Last month, DC's Mayor signed the groundbreaking Second Look Amendment Act, which will expand eligibility under our IRAA sentence review law to those who were under 25 at the time of their offense. An update on where things are now and what the road ahead looks like (A thread):
The bill is not law yet! Because DC is not a state, our local laws are subject to congressional review, meaning that after our local government passes them a period of time (60 legislative days in this case) must elapse without congressional interference for them to take effect.
The good news is that Congress rarely intervenes to block local DC laws, and with the Second Look Amendment Act there appears no meaningful chance that this will happen. The bill is expected to take effect later this year, most likely in May (image from DC Council website).
Once the law takes effect, implementing it will be one of the biggest logistical challenges the DC Courts have faced in recent memory. Under our current law, there are about 100 people eligible (who were under 18 at the time of their offenses) for sentence reductions.
The Second Look Amendment Act ( or "IRAA 3.0") will make an estimated 500-700 people newly eligible for sentence reductions. Though the currently eligible population is well taken care of, this surge will create a huge demand for lawyers, judicial resources, & community support.
To meet this demand, organizations like @SecondLookDC, @pdsdc, @JusticePolicy, and @GeorgetownLaw are working together to organize the implementation response, recruit and train pro bono lawyers, and develop a system of best practices for meeting the needs of this population.
Even in a best case scenario, it appears that the implementation of this law will be a challenging process. One like reason for IRAA's success so far is that it allows for a thorough and deliberate analysis of each case by a judge, after extensive briefing and litigation.
Though we are working to make sure this continues, it likely means that there will not immediately be enough lawyers for all of these eligible petitioners, and that DC Superior Court, which still has nearly 10 judicial seats left unfilled by the Trump administration, may (cont'd)
face a challenge in assigning, processing and resolving all of these cases efficiently.
Another significant challenge and question we face is the likely response of the DC US Attorney's Office to these petitions. Historically the USAO has almost universally opposed IRAA petitions., making even clearly meritorious cases difficult, lengthy and time consuming.
There is some hope that the Biden administration, with an expressed commitment to both criminal justice reform and the sovereignty and self-determination of the District of Columbia, will appoint a US Attorney who will carry out this law, passed by DC's local govt, in good faith.
However, if Biden appoints a more traditional prosecutor who is either opposed to decarceration efforts like this, or uninterested enough to let the career officials in that office determine policy, it appears likely that relcalcitrant opposition will continue to be the rule.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people serving extreme sentences for D.C. Code offenses wait in federal prisons across the country, aware of the new law that will offer them a chance at freedom but unaware when they will get a lawyer or when their case will be heard.
This would be a situation full of uncertainty in normal times, but ongoing pandemic serves to make things even more uncertain and daunting. Ordinarily people would be brought back to local DC facilities to assist counsel in preparing their cases and be present for court hearings.
Because of restrictions placed on the movement and transfer of incarcerated people, and a provision in the new law preventing the return of newly eligible people during the ongoing public health emergency (to accommodate demands placed on the DC DOC by the pandemic) (cont'd)
the overwhelming majority of newly eligible people will remain in federal prisons far away from DC for the foreseeable future, making it even more difficult for them to work with attorneys and investigators to prepare their cases.
These are just a handful of the most immediate challenges presented by the enactment of this exciting reform passed overwhelmingly by DC's legislature and Mayor. We have again shown that we are on the cutting edge nationally of jurisdictions pursuing decarceration.
Now, the challenge will be showing not just that we have the courage and vision to pass groundbreaking laws like this, but that we have the commitment and dedication necessary to actually make the promise of this law real for the hundreds of people and families waiting on it.
