Rockefeller Drug Laws

Modern Courts supports Rockefeller Drug Law reform that preserves the independence of the judiciary by restoring judicial discretion in sentencing drug defendants. Under current law, the District Attorney (DA) holds the discretionary power to determine the fate of drug offenders. Judges who currently have sentencing authority in certain homicide cases are not vested with the same discretionary power in drug offenses. Additionally, current law imposes harsh mandatory sentences on drug offenders without regard to mitigating circumstances.

As an unintended consequence, these sentencing provisions may force offenders to accept the DA’s offer and plead guilty in order to avoid being sentenced to lengthy prison terms. In practice, prosecutors have authority over the indictment and sentencing process, thus shifting decision-making power away from judges.

Modern Courts supports reform that would reinstate judges’ Constitutional role as impartial arbiters in drug cases. Sentencing options should include diversion programs for eligible, non-violent addicted defendants to court approved drug treatment programs. Further, Modern Courts recognizes that judges are best able to evaluate the seriousness of these types of offenses and to deliberate on the fate of the offender with impartiality and in fair application of the law.

Several studies by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a 2001 Correctional Association report and a 1997 Rand Drug Policy Research Center, study confirm that treatment is the most effective tool in the fight against drug abuse and drug-related crime. These studies found that treatment reduces serious crime 15 times more than mandatory minimum sentences. Additionally, drug treatment programs have been successful in reducing the levels of drug abuse and recidivism among participants.

Reforming the Rockefeller Drug Law would also lower current correctional costs and would stop draining resources away from the criminal justice and welfare system. Restoring judicial discretion and providing judges with feasible alternatives to incarceration for eligible, non-violent drug offenders would allow the system to reduce current correctional expenses. It is widely recognized that it costs nearly $32,000 to keep an inmate in NYS prison for a year, whereas the cost of residential drug treatment is $17,000-$21,000 per participant per year.

We urge you to support legislation that restores judicial discretion in sentencing drug defendants.