Judiciary

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) applauded the release of a new Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center brief analyzing data from states that have employed a Justice Reinvestment approach. The brief, “Examining the Changing Racial Composition of Three States’ Prison Populations,” examined data from Georgia, Connecticut, and North Carolina and found subsequent drops in prison admissions and prison populations, which were especially pronounced among minority populations. The Justice Reinvestment Initiative provides federal grants to allow states to conduct comprehensive, data-driven analyses of their criminal justice systems and adopt smart, evidence-based policies designed to reduce corrections spending and increase public safety.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) and Congressman Trey Gowdy (SC-04) introduced H.R. 1251, the Federal Defender Ex-Officio Act in the House of Representatives. This bill would add a non-voting Federal Defender representative to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Currently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has two non-voting representatives, but the Federal Defenders lack even one, despite the sizable number of defendants in federal criminal proceedings represented by Federal Public Defender organizations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) introduced several bills targeted at improving the nation’s broken criminal justice system. “The bills I introduced today would make targeted but much needed improvements to our criminal justice system,” Scott stated. “For example, making the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive is just commonsense. There is absolutely no reason that individuals sentenced under the old crack cocaine sentencing laws should not be able to petition a court, which can conduct case-by-case determinations that it is in the interest of public safety, to grant the benefit of reductions enacted pursuant to the Fair Sentencing Act. Research has demonstrated that treating crack more severely than powder cocaine is not based upon any scientific or otherwise empirical evidence of increased dangerousness to the user or to the community. It is time Congress does away with this discriminatory disparity once and for all.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho, and Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-Va., introduced the Smarter Sentencing Act today to bring common sense and flexibility to federal criminal sentencing laws. The bill would allow courts to make individualized assessments in nonviolent drug cases, ensuring that limited resources are focused on the most serious offenders, while maintaining public safety. A companion bill has been introduced in the United States Senate by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). "I am honored to join Congressman Labrador as a cosponsor of the Smarter Sentencing Act," said Rep. Scott. "Granting federal judges more discretion in sentencing for nonviolent drug offenses is the right thing to do. Studies of mandatory minimums conclude that they fail to reduce crime, they waste the taxpayers’ money, they discriminate against minorities, and they often require the imposition of sentences that violate common sense.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced the Justice Safety Valve Act (S. 353/H.R. 706) in the Senate and House of Representatives. The Justice Safety Valve Act would give federal judges the ability to impose sentences below mandatory minimums in appropriate cases based upon mitigating factors. “Mandatory minimum sentences have been studied extensively and have been found to distort rational sentencing systems, discriminate against minorities, waste money, and often require a judge to impose sentences that violate common sense,” stated Rep. Scott. “To add insult to injury, studies have shown that mandatory minimum sentences fail to reduce crime. Our bill will give discretion back to federal judges so that they can consider all the facts, issues, and circumstances before sentencing.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the conclusion of the 113th Congress, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) will end his service as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations on the House Judiciary Committee. From 2007 through 2010, he served as the subcommittee’s Chairman. Additionally, during the 113th Congress, Congressman Scott served as Ranking Member of the bipartisan Task Force on Over-criminalization, which was authorized by the House Judiciary Committee on May 7, 2013. The Task Force was charged with assessing our nation’s current federal criminal justice system and to make recommendations for improvements. While the Task Force did not issue a final report, Congressman Scott recently filed the Democratic Views of the Task Force’s work and findings, including recommended reforms.