What Is The Process For Seeking A Sentence Reduction Under The Second Look Act?

The process for someone to be released under the law will usually be a long one. The process requires collecting as many Bureau of Prisons records as possible about the person; collecting all educational, mental health, juvenile and criminal justice records about the person; extensive investigation into the offense of conviction and extensive investigation into, and interviews of, the offender's family, friends, teachers, therapists, neighbors, employers and others in her/his life. All of those things will have to be done before a motion can even be filed and can often take at least a year. 

Once all those steps have been taken, it takes several weeks or months to write and file a motion. After a motion is filed, the government files a response, and then the movant may file a reply. There may be many court hearings once all the written materials have been submitted. 

Most people eligible under the new law will probably not receive decisions in their cases until at least 2022 or 2023, and not all of those decisions will result in the movant’s release. While this may be disappointing to hear it is essential that everyone appreciate how much has to be done for people to be released under this new law. 

When will my incarcerated loved one receive a lawyer? 

The DC community is working to assist individuals who may qualify for resentencing under the Second Look Amendment Act. The Georgetown Criminal Justice Clinic, the Second Look Project and the Public Defender Service are working to identify everyone who is eligible under the new law. We are also working on a system to get people pro bono lawyers. As part of our work on the implementation of this law, we are also recruiting lawyers who will be provided training and support through our organizations, and are currently in the process of matching these attorneys with eligible people. 

The process of pairing eligible people with pro bono lawyers will take considerable time and effort. Hundreds of people became eligible once the law took effect. And there are currently more eligible people than there are legal teams able to take the cases pro bono. One key factor for priority is the number of years an eligible person has been incarcerated, with greater priority given to those who have been incarcerated longer. For example, a person who has been in prison for 30 years will likely have higher priority for a pro bono legal team than a person who has been in prison for 15 or 16 years. 

We do not know exactly what the process for getting lawyers through Superior Court will ultimately look like. Appointments from the Criminal Justice Act Panel (private court-appointed lawyers) are presently being made by Superior Court judges in some cases. We are going to make training on Second Look sentence reduction motions available to both pro bono and court-appointed lawyers who agree to work on these cases. 

Right now we are not collecting information directly from eligible people other than their name, register number, and D.C. Superior Court case number(s) if they think they are eligible. Any more specific information or records related to your case can be provided directly to your attorney once you have one. If you already have submitted a request and/or paperwork to Georgetown, that information will be forwarded to the attorney who ultimately is assigned to your case. 

Are there limitations filing?

This legislation limits the number of times an individual can file for resentencing under this Act and the amount of time an individual must wait between filing petitions. An individual who is denied resentencing by the Court must wait three years before filing another petition under this Act. An individual may petition the court for resentencing under this Act a total of three times. The court will not consider a fourth petition for resentencing under this Act.