Safety valve (law)

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The safety valve is a provision in the Sentencing Reform Act and the United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines that authorizes a sentence below the statutory minimum for certain nonviolent, non-managerial drug offenders with little or no criminal history. [1] [2] [3] A Senate version of the First Step Act was signed into law in December 2018, which expanded the safety valve to include offenders with up to four criminal history points, excluding 1-point offenses, such as minor misdemeanors. [4]

References

  1. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)
  2. U.S.S.G. §5C1.2, 11 August 2015
  3. "22-340 PULSIFER V. UNITED STATES" (PDF). supremecourt.gov.
  4. "The Revised First Step Act of 2018 (S.3649)" (PDF). judiciary.senate.gov.