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] 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.[3]
References
- ^ 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)
- ^ U.S.S.G. §5C1.2, 11 August 2015
- ^ https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/S.%203649%20-%20First%20Step%20Act%20Summary.pdf [bare URL PDF]