The question is how to determine eligibility for the safety valve — whether any of the conditions is enough to disqualify someone or whether it takes all three to be ineligible.
Lawyers for Mark Pulsifer, the inmate whose challenge the court will hear, say all three conditions must apply before the longer sentence can be imposed.
Circuit Court of Appeals to make him eligible for a mandatory sentence of at least 15 years.
Courts in Atlanta, Richmond, Virginia and San Francisco have ruled to broaden eligibility for the safety valve reductions.
The safety valve has been attractive both to prosecutors and defendants because it helps obtain convictions faster and allows for more nuanced prison terms, Berman said.
Persons:
—, Douglas Berman, Mark Pulsifer, Pulsifer, Nonami Palomares, Eric Lopez, James Lorenz, ” Berman, Ketanji Brown, Berman
Organizations:
WASHINGTON, U.S . Sentencing, Ohio State, Circuit, of, U.S ., District, American Civil Liberties Union, . Sentencing
Locations:
Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Atlanta , Richmond , Virginia, San Francisco, Texas, U.S, San Diego, Pulsifer v