820 HERE COULD ASK FOR TERMS TO BE CUT

A U.S. Sentencing Commission vote Tuesday will allow 19,500 primarily
black federal inmates -- including 820 in the St. Louis region -- to
seek a reduction in their prison terms for crack cocaine offenses.

Earlier this year, the commission reduced the range of sentences that
federal crack defendants will face in the future, after years of
complaints that punishment for powdered cocaine offenses was lighter.

In a unanimous vote, commission members made the relief
retroactive.

The issue has strong racial overtones because crack defendants are
predominantly black, and powdered cocaine defendants predominantly
white.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey, a former federal judge, said at a
news conference Tuesday, "Our position is clear. We oppose it." The
Justice Department said retroactivity discounts the factors judges
considered in making the original sentences and threatens to swamp
the courts and probation system.

Scott Rosenblum, a prominent criminal defense lawyer here, said the
change makes justice fairer and was long overdue.

In October, the commission estimated that about 450 of the affected
inmates had been sentenced in the Eastern District of Missouri, based
in St. Louis. It was 10th highest among the federal court districts.
There are about 370 in the Southern District of Illinois, based in
East St. Louis. It ranked 14th.

Nationally, about 86 percent of the affected inmates are black, 8
percent Hispanic and 6 percent white. Under the new sentencing
guidelines, they on average face 27 fewer months in prison.

The commission stressed that judges will make the final determination
in each case. The retroactivity does not begin until March 3, to
provide time to work out logistics.

In the courthouses, there were a lot of questions.

"We're kind of at a standstill," said Phyllis Nelson, chief probation
officer in Southern Illinois. She said her staff awaits instructions
from Washington and the courts.

Rosenblum said he did not know what procedure would be used. Adam
Fein, a colleague in his firm, said that a probation officer in St.
Louis said that lawyers may not even need to be involved.

Not all inmates will qualify, depending on the facts of their cases.
For some, more than one drug was involved. For others, the reduction
would not make a difference. Some were sentenced to life in prison.
Officials said three are ailing and expected to die before the new
policy takes hold.

In an example Rosenblum provided, a first-time offender caught with
20 grams of crack -- whose case involved no gun or other aggravating
factor -- could have faced 78-97 months in prison before the change.
After, it's 63 to 78 months.

Rosenblum said the change will not affect the mandatory minimums for
crack offenses -- five or 10 years depending on the amount of the
drug.

And it will still take 500 grams of powdered cocaine to earn a
defendant a mandatory five years, compared to just five grams of
crack. That disparity would be reduced or eliminated in some bills in
Congress.

The commission's decision comes a day after the Supreme Court
reinforced its view that federal sentencing guidelines -- including
those for crack cases -- are advisory rather than mandatory, and that
judges may deviate from them as long as their decisions are reasonable.

The commission was formed more than 20 years ago to try to make
sentences more consistent among judges and court districts.

The changes do not affect state court sentences, which are set at the
state level. Local police and prosecutors often prefer to hand off
large-scale drug cases to federal courts because they generally offer
longer sentences.

There was substantial pressure on the issue. "Almost all of more than
33,000 letters and written comments favored the change," a commission
statement announcing the vote said.

Court officials have been planning for the possibility for
months.

Doug Burris, chief federal probation officer in St. Louis, is among
10 members of a national advisory group for his peers. He said the
first attention will go to inmates who might be eligible for
immediate release.

Officials are even looking into whether the resentencings could be
conducted via video conference so U.S. marshals aren't faced with
hundreds of trips between federal prisons and courts.

Burris said the Eastern District of Virginia, which leads the nation
in eligible inmates, could have more than 1,000 resentencings.
"They're going to be almost killed with it," he said.

Other federal court districts will send workers to help
out.

His office does not expect to need extra help, but Burris added,
"I've got to tell you, there will be a lot of extra hours -- a lot of
nights and weekends."