Abstract
Defendant A was recently arrested in the Southern District of California for illegal reentry pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Defendant A has no record of violent crime, but he has past convictions for illegal entry and possession of marijuana. Typically, a defendant in this situation would be eligible for up to six years in prison. However, Defendant A was arrested in Southern California, a district with a government-recognized early disposition, or "fast-track," program because it is overwhelmed with illegal entry cases. As a result, a prosecutor will likely give Defendant A the option of entering a pre-indictment guilty plea in exchange for a shorter sentence. If Defendant A accepts this option, he will only have to serve about thirty months prison time, not six years.
Recommended Citation
Middleton, Erin T.
(2004)
"Fast-Track to Disparity: How Federal Sentencing Policies Along the Southwest Border Are Undermining the Sentencing Guidelines and Violating Equal Protection,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 2004:
No.
3, Article 5.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2004/iss3/5