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Low-Level Crack Offenders Are Not Covered Under First Step Act, Unanimous Supreme Court Says

Low-Level Crack Offenders Are Not Covered Under First Step Act, Unanimous Supreme Court Says
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 5, 2020. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Matthew Vadum
Matthew Vadum
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|Updated:

Low-level crack cocaine defendants are not included in the Trump-era First Step Act that reduced some prison sentences, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously.

The court’s opinion in Terry v. U.S., court file 20-5904, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, is a defeat for the Biden administration, which had argued that such offenders should be covered under the 2018 statute. Justice Sonia Sotomayor concurred with the result and part of the opinion.