About this episode

The episode discusses recent Supreme Court decisions that have made compassionate release more difficult to obtain and offers insights from legal experts.

With the First Step Act of 2018 came the great hope of expanded grounds and use of "Compassionate Release." Judges were offered the promise of wider discretion to give deserving clients a second look at sentencing. But, the Supreme Court just made compassionate release a whole lot harder to get, because in two back-to-back decisions — Fernandez and Rutherford — the Court slammed the door on two of the most frequently used grounds for eligibility. In this episode, Passon convenes two of the sharpest minds in federal sentencing — regular guest Mark Allenbaugh and returning star Prof. Doug Berman — for a deep-dive reaction. Together, we break down what each case actually holds, where the majority reasoning goes wrong, why the dissents matter, and — critically — what still works. Because even though it seems the door is shrinking--- it hasn't closed. If you litigate compassionate release, this episode is required listening! IN THIS EPISODE: History of compassionate release; (25:12) Discussion of Fernandez ; Advice for arguing around these two restrictive opinions; ( 39:00) Discussion of Rutherford ; How both opinions usurp the role of both Congress and the US Sentencing Commission…

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