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Biden DOJ Reverses Position on Crack Cocaine Appeal Before Supreme Court

Biden DOJ Reverses Position on Crack Cocaine Appeal Before Supreme Court
A sign for the Department of Justice hangs in the press briefing room at the Justice Department in Washington, on April 18, 2019. Patrick Semansky/AP Photo
Matthew Vadum
Matthew Vadum
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Low-level crack cocaine defendants should benefit from a 2018 federal law that reduced prison sentences for certain offenses, the Biden administration advised the Supreme Court, distancing itself from a more hardline position taken by the Trump administration.

Although then-President Donald Trump signed the criminal justice reform measure known as the First Step Act into law, his administration held the view that possession of a small amount of crack cocaine wasn’t covered under the statute.

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