Doors Open to Teens

It's an adult topic —one that federal judges hope teenagers will want to discuss and experience. This fall, courts will invite high school students to learn about one of their most important duties as citizens, an adult rite of passage as important as voting. That duty is jury service.

As part of the Judiciary's national educational outreach initiative, local courts may participate in the Open Doors to Federal Courts program on the designated national event day on November 13, or they may host the program anytime during the week of November 11, or throughout 2002. The topic of this year's Open Doors is Jury Service: A Rite of Passage.

The goal of the program is to present jury service as a privilege and an adult responsibility. The 18-year old age group is targeted with the goal of increasing their court literacy—and the likelihood they will respond positively to jury summons later on in their adult lives.

The day-long program will simulate the process of jury service, from summons and juror questionnaire through jury selection, trial, deliberation and verdict. Judges from the participating courts and local attorneys will lend authenticity to the proceedings. Prior to the program, teachers will be prepared through a Teachers Institute/Program Orientation at the courthouse. They'll then carry lesson plans back to their classrooms, where students receive their summons and juror questionnaires. On the day of the Open Doors program, students are ready to become jurors and participate fully in events.

For more information on the program and participating courthouses, contact national outreach manager Rebecca Fanning at rebecca_fanning@ao.uscourts.gov.

U.S. Sentencing Commission Urges Changes in Federal Cocaine Sentencing Policy

The chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Judge Diana E. Murphy (8^th Cir.) appeared before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs last month to outline the Commission's recommendations on cocaine sentencing. The Commission has released a 112-page report advocating a reassessment of federal cocaine penalties. The report, entitled Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy, is available online at http://www.ussc.gov/r_congress/02crack/2002crackrpt.htm.

In her testimony, Murphy asked Congress to modify federal drug laws to target the most dangerous offenders for greater punishment while also addressing the wide disparity in treatment between crack and powder cocaine. Current laws treat trafficking and possession of crack significantly more severely than powder cocaine. The Commission's extensive review of literature on such issues as the addictiveness of cocaine; its own study of federal cocaine offenders; a survey of state sentencing policies, public comment on current policy; and testimony at hearings from the medical and scientific communities, and federal and local law enforcement officials, have caused the Commission to conclude that the cocaine penalty structure can be improved significantly.

"[T]he Commission unanimously agreed that at this time we can best facilitate congressional consideration of the proposed statutory and guideline changes," said Murphy, "by submitting recommendations to Congress first, then working with Congress to implement appropriate modifications to the penalty structure."

The Commission recommends that Congress adopt the following three-pronged approach to revise federal cocaine sentencing policy:

(1) Increase the five-year mandatory minimum threshold quantity for crack cocaine offenses to at least 25 grams, and the 10-year threshold quantity to at least 250 grams (and repeal the mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine).

(2) Direct the Commission to provide appropriate sentencing enhancements in the primary drug trafficking guideline, USSG §2D1.1, to account for certain aggravating conduct.

(3) Maintain the mandatory minimum penalties for powder cocaine offenses at their current levels, with the understanding that the proposed guideline sentencing enhancements would apply to powder cocaine offenses.