One Writs of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Brief of Former United States District Court Judges Paul G. Cassell and Nancy Gertner as Amici Curiae in Support of the Petitioners. 

INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE1

Amici curiae are two former United States District

Court Judges who have sentenced defendants

under the mandatory-minimum provisions of the

Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 (“1986 Act”), Pub. L. No.

99-570, 100 Stat. 3207 (1986). Both have written

opinions and articles expressing their deep concerns

about the unfairness of the onerous mandatoryminimum

penalties for non-violent drug offenders

and the racial disparities they have engendered. Both

are now law professors who continue to research and

write on the subject of sentencing and criminal justice...