Wow...Meech said Bleu took the "safety valve"......
A person accused in federal court of drug trafficking or drug conspiracy can face an incredibly harsh sentence of ten years or more as a “mandatory minimum sentence" under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. A skilled and careful criminal defense attorney can use the “safety valve" to avoid such harsh sentences in many cases. An unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the safety valve can backfire, however, and can cause the accused to suffer a much longer sentence than if the accused had not sought the safety valve. It is imperative that the criminal defense attorney have a thorough understanding of how the safety valve works, and how to increase the odds that his client will qualify for it.
The safety valve is one of only two ways of avoiding the mandatory minimum sentence of ten years or more for drug trafficking and drug conspiracy. The other method, which is discussed in a separate article, is to provide “substantial assistance" to the Government under 5K1.1 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The safety valve is set forth in 5C1.2 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. It provides relief from the mandatory minimum sentence if the defendant has little to no criminal history (which is defined as 0 or 1 criminal history points) and if the defendant truthfully discloses everything he knows about the crime he committed prior to sentencing. Such disclosure requires that the defendant tell the Government everything about his actions and that he tell the Government about all of the actions of those who participated in the crime with him or who assisted him in any way.
A person accused in federal court of drug trafficking or drug conspiracy can face an incredibly harsh sentence of ten years or more as a “mandatory minimum sentence" under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. A skilled and careful criminal defense attorney can use the “safety valve" to avoid such harsh sentences in many cases. An unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the safety valve can backfire, however, and can cause the accused to suffer a much longer sentence than if the accused had not sought the safety valve. It is imperative that the criminal defense attorney have a thorough understanding of how the safety valve works, and how to increase the odds that his client will qualify for it.
The safety valve is one of only two ways of avoiding the mandatory minimum sentence of ten years or more for drug trafficking and drug conspiracy. The other method, which is discussed in a separate article, is to provide “substantial assistance" to the Government under 5K1.1 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The safety valve is set forth in 5C1.2 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. It provides relief from the mandatory minimum sentence if the defendant has little to no criminal history (which is defined as 0 or 1 criminal history points) and if the defendant truthfully discloses everything he knows about the crime he committed prior to sentencing. Such disclosure requires that the defendant tell the Government everything about his actions and that he tell the Government about all of the actions of those who participated in the crime with him or who assisted him in any way.