U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on May 28 that the Supreme Court has limited federal judges’ discretion under the compassionate release provisions of the First Step Act in its rulings in Fernandez v. United States and Rutherford v. United States.
“The Supreme Court just significantly weakened a landmark, bipartisan criminal justice reform law in defiance of Congressional intent,” Durbin said. “When we wrote the First Step Act, we clearly sought to expand federal judges’ discretion to consider compassionate release as part of an effective smart-on-crime approach to reforming our justice system.”
Durbin also said, “We will be exploring options to uphold the integrity of the First Step Act, including further legislation.” He and U.S. Senator Cory Booker had urged the Justices to reverse lower court judgments in both cases.
The First Step Act was signed into law in 2018 after being championed by Durbin, Booker, Chuck Grassley, and Mike Lee. The law made reforms retroactive from the Fair Sentencing Act and included requirements for developing a risk assessment system for prisoners, reducing some mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, expanding safety valve provisions for certain offenders with minor criminal histories, and authorizing incarcerated individuals to file compassionate release motions in federal court.
At a January 2024 hearing referenced by Durbin’s office, it was noted that among 44,671 adults released under these reforms at that time, only 9.7 percent had been arrested for new crimes compared with an overall Bureau of Prisons recidivism rate near 45 percent. There have been 4,165 retroactive sentence reductions and 4,973 granted compassionate release motions since enactment.
Durbin has also aided Illinois residents by addressing federal agency issues and promoting health programs; participated in Senate committees focused on judiciary matters; supported community efforts such as facilitating immigration processes; represented Illinois in Congress; advocated for health initiatives like childhood asthma programs; and held a leadership position as Senate Democratic Whip, according to the official website.
