Client Stories on Federal Sentencing Matters

These videos are clients and family members talking, in their own words, about federal sentencing matters we worked on. Most are about motions to reduce a sentence after the First Step Act. Others are about a resentencing hearing, or about the Bureau of Prisons getting jail credit or halfway house time wrong.

Each video is short and has captions. Every case is different, and these stories describe what happened in one case only.

What the three groups cover

The groups follow the kind of federal work the speaker is describing. They are not a full list of cases, and a result in one video does not predict another case.

A sentence reduction motion asks the court that imposed the sentence to lower it. Many of the videos in the first group are about motions filed after the First Step Act of 2018. The statute that lets a court reduce a sentence in the situations that Act covers is 18 U.S.C. § 3582. The sentence reduction guide explains the motion, and the First Step Act summary explains the statute.

A sentencing hearing is where the judge sets the term. A resentencing is a later hearing, after a court has set that first sentence aside or reopened it, where the judge sets the term again. The page on the sentencing hearing describes what happens in the courtroom, including the right to speak.

After the judge imposes the sentence, the Bureau of Prisons calculates the release date. That math includes credit for time already spent in custody and, in some cases, time in a halfway house or on home confinement. A dispute with the Bureau is about that calculation. It is not a request that the judge impose a new sentence. The guide to sentence computation explains how the Bureau counts the start date, jail credit, and good conduct time.

Each video is one person speaking about one case. When the speaker is a family member, the video is that person's account of a relative's case. The line under each video says the clip is advertising and that outcomes vary. Watching a video does not create an attorney-client relationship. Request a consultation to talk about your own federal case.

The three groups are separate. A reduction motion goes back to the sentencing court under a statute that allows a lower term. A resentencing is a new hearing on the sentence itself. A Bureau of Prisons dispute is about how an existing sentence is counted. The video titles name the speaker. The short line under the name says whether the speaker is a client or a family member, and the clock time is the length of that clip. Press play when you want the sound. The still image is only a preview.

Advertising material. Outcomes vary. A past result does not predict or guarantee the outcome of any other case.