Supreme Court Rebuffs Drug Defendant’s First Step Act Application

The Supreme Court rejected a North Carolina woman’s request to have her drug sentence reduced under the Trump-era First Step Act. The decision to reject First Step Act relief for this criminal defendant is expected to be followed by several more decisions denying relief after the Supreme Court laid down its interpretation of a key provision of the statute in a March 15 ruling. The First Step Act, a bipartisan measure approved by Congress and signed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018, reformed aspects of the criminal justice system, making it easier for the courts to reduce penalties for nonviolent drug offenders....