You are right to hail the bipartisan support for a national

commission to examine our nation’s criminal justice system.

The United States has 2.3 million people in jails and prisons

serving longer sentences than ever before. Maintaining this

incarceration rate, by far the highest in the world, will cost

American taxpayers $74 billion by 2011.

As your editorial points out, there are a number of options

that the federal and state governments can choose to alleviate

our nation’s overincarceration problem without jeopardizing

public safety. Essential to any comprehensive reform is

sentencing reform, including repeal of one-size-fits-all

Criminal Justice Reform: States Are

Leading The WayTo The Editor:Re: “They Don’t Agree Often” (editorial, May 10):

The Sentencing ChroniclesFAMM 2010 Annual Report

Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) concluded its 2010 campaign for just sen-tencing laws with a string of major sentencing victories. FAMM helped promote major reforms in Congress, as well as in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Florida. These victories will provide meaningful relief to

tens of thousands of individuals and families who have been impacted by harsh, one-size-fits-all sentenc-ing laws. In a time of political and budgetary turmoil, FAMM’s bipar-tisan approach and cost-efficient reforms are likely to propel it to even greater successes in 2011.

FAMM Releases Annual ReportSentences That Fit. Justice That Works.

Old habits die hard. We go through the

same motions even when we know they aren’t

working. Maybe that’s human nature but it’s not

good public policy. And when it comes to drug

sentencing policy, it’s a disaster.

Nearly 30 years have passed since “mandatory

minimum” sentences for drug offenses were first

passed in Massachusetts. Each year hundreds of

drug offenders receive fixed and often lengthy

mandatory minimum sentences – 950 men and

women in 2008 alone. Judges are required to

impose one-size-fits-all sentences, regardless of

the offender’s role in the crime, prior criminal

record (if any) or need for drug treatment.

As a result, drug offenders are routinely

sentenced to 10 or 15 years in prison – even

longer. Those on the lowest rungs of the drug

trade, including substance abusers and addicts,

receive the same lengthy sentences intended

for drug kingpins, even as first-time offenders.

They can serve longer sentences than violent

criminals.

Viewpoint: Massachusetts should drop mandatory drug sentences

For example, a person who plays any part in the

sale of 200 or more grams of cocaine – the same

quantity as a can of baking powder – must be

sentenced to at least 15 years in prison. That’s

the same mandatory sentence as for a second

conviction for armed rape. It gets worse. While

in prison, drug offenders are restricted in their

ability to participate in work release programs and

to apply for parole – opportunities available to

most other inmates. These are the very programs

designed to help inmates gain important job skills

and to return successfully to the community under

supervision. A bipartisan commission convened by

former Gov. Romney called such restrictions a

“recipe for recidivism.”

The Republican

Barbara Dougan

Measuring the results of public policy advocacy can often be difficult. For FAMM in 2010, the task was simple.

Years spent developing effective arguments, recruiting new allies, and educating the media and public were rewarded with a year long whirlwind of exciting legislative victories. In Washington, D.C. we prevailed in dramatically scaling back the infamous crack cocaine sentencing disparity. In New Jersey, our long campaign to reform the drug-free school zone ended in January with a bill signing ceremony. Our state director

Editorial

Barbara Dougan was asked to join the governor of Massachusetts in addressing a rally to celebrate the passage of sentencing reform.We didn’t stop there. In between celebrations, we filed briefs in six cases in federal and state courts; ramped up our campaign in Florida; and started some exciting new projects that should bear fruit in 2011.Our magical year would not have been possible without the generous financial support of our donors and the steadfast moral support of our members. Our victories are their victories and we never forget that.

was a year of

VICTORIESBy Julie Stewart, President of FAMM

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Letters

to the E

dito

r

“Over the past two decades, I have worked on hundreds of policy matters for the Massachusetts Bar and legal community. I have experience working with diverse groups of organizations on a multitude of policy issues. I have to sincerely state that out of all of these organizations, FAMM has been the leading organization most dedicated to its core mission. Through FAMM’s efforts, all of the members of our sentencing coalition are continually kept informed of the key “inside” strategy. FAMM has consistently been at the table prodding the Commonwealth’s legislative leadership and guber-natorial administration officials. Without FAMM’s laser-focused expertise, I fear sentencing reform would have continued to remain mired down in legislative paralysis.”

-Martin Healy, COO and Chief Legal Counsel for the Massachusetts Bar Association.

“Julie Stewart and FAMM are waging one of the most difficult but necessary battles imaginable: getting politicians to honestly evaluate the extraordinary costs and minimal benefits of some of their so-called “tough on crime” polices. Taxpayers of all political stripes should root for FAMM.”

Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform

Re: FAMM’s success on reducing the crack disparity

“Great job!!!! This is such a huge victory for so many Americans and their families. Thank you from my family, especially my daughter, who will one day see her daddy come home sooner than expected. Thank you for your diligence and hard work FAMM!!”

-Angelique Buffington, FAMM supporter

- Mr. & Mrs. Miller

“Thanks to you, our son has now finished his MBA and is a business strategy consultant for an international consulting company. Thank you Julie, we owe you forever.”

Simple Justice Blog, commenting on SentenceSpeak, FAMM’s new blog.

“The writing is easily understood and quickly digested… this is a very interesting blog and something that you might want to let the families of convicted clients know about.”

“Obama signs law narrowing cocaine sentencing disparities,” New York Times, 8/3/10.

Julie Stewart, founder and president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said the crack reform law “signals the beginning of new bipartisanship” that should lead to more reform, like extending the new rules to those already in prison. “The first test is whether Congress will finish the job on crack reform and apply the law retroactively,” she said

Editorial3

Jennifer Seltzer Stitt, Eric Holder, and Karen Garrison

In 2010, FAMM won an important victory in its 17-year campaign to change crack cocaine sentencing laws. The hard-charging reform group never believed that a 100:1 disparity between powder and crack sentences was justified. Nor did it believe possession of a mere five grams of crack (the weight of two dimes) should trigger a five-year prison sentence.

Working with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and allies, FAMM fired up its machine to make crack sentences fairer. The effort began full-force when Senators Durbin and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) reached an agreement on a crack bill they could both support. Sen. Durbin used his influence to engage the White House to target individual members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. FAMM supported the

White House effort by securing strategic media hits in key senators’ states and worked with a coalition of advocacy groups to put pressure on Senate Judiciary Committee members. The group’s politically savvy strategy was rewarded when the Senate Judiciary Committee and then the full Senate approved the bill unanimously in March.

To ensure bipartisan support in the U.S. House, FAMM took the lead in persuading five social conserva-tives and taxpayer advocates to sign a letter of support. This letter received media interest so FAMM doubled down on its conservative outreach by helping to secure and place op-eds from nationally recognized economic and social conservatives, including former Republican congressman and DEA administrator Asa Hutchinson.

Year Battle for CraCk reform

National News

In the end, conservatives helped convince Republican leaders in the House to support the crack bill and, on July 27, it was approved by voice vote. On August 3, President Obama signed the bill into law. In an editorial in the Washington Post that very morning, the editors singled out some of those most responsible for getting this overdue reform enacted:

House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.) were instrumen-tal in advancing the bill in the House. Much credit also belongs to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, which for years pushed relentlessly for a fair corrective to the abusive sentencing laws.

The new law repeals the five-year mandatory minimum for crack

SeeS Victory

President Obama signs the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010

possession, marking the first time Congress has eliminated a mandatory minimum since the Nixon administration. An estimated 6,500 crack defendants each year will receive sentences that are fairer.

Although the crack bill was not written to be retroactive, FAMM immediately began – through an interview with Main Justice and a commentary piece by Julie Stewart on the Huffington Post – to make the case for retroactivity. FAMM worked closely with its congres-sional champions to develop leg-islation and strategy to apply the new crack penalties retroactively. In December, Rep. Bobby Scott introduced a bill to apply the new crack penalties retroactively, unfortunately, time ran out before the bill could make any progress.

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FAMM President Julie Stewart testified before the U.S. Sentencing Commission on May 27 about mandatory minimums in federal law. The Commission is in the process of drafting a new report on the matter, and Julie used her appearance to encourage the com-missioners to come out as forcefully against mandatory minimums in their upcoming report as they did

Criminal Justice Commission Bill Gets U.S. House Approval

U.S. Sentencing Commission to Draft New Mandatory Minimum Report

National News

FAMM jumped at the chance to coordinate broad advocacy efforts around the National Criminal Justice Commission Act. The bill, introduced in the Senate by Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) and in the House by Representative Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.), would create a bipartisan, blue-ribbon commis-sion to study the criminal justice system from top to bottom and make recommendations for reform.

Jennifer Seltzer Stitt, FAMM’s director of federal legislative affairs, built a coalition of 150 organizations in support of the bill, spanning the civil rights community, law enforcement associations, and victim’s rights groups to discuss legislative strategy. In April, Julie Stewart was invited to appear with the bipartisan sponsors of the bill as well as law enforcement and criminal justice reform groups at a

in their 1991 report to Congress on mandatory minimum sentences.

As always, FAMM kept a close watch on Commission activities in 2010. For example, it filed extensive comments on various proposed guideline amendments in order to shape Commission policy and worked to advance the confir-mations of new Commissioners.

press event to announce the House bill’s introduction

On January 21, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill out of committee. On July 27, the U.S. House passed the commis-sion bill. The Senate adjourned, however, without acting on the bill. The bill would never have received the traction it did without FAMM’s organizing efforts.

“We think it’s a victory. It’s not everything we want but that’s politics,”said Julie Stewart, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. Ms. Stewart said her biggest complaint is that the new law won’t be retroactive. “We’re going back for that,” she said.

“House Eases Crack Cocaine Sentences,” Wall Street Journal, 7/29/10

Julie Stewart and Senator Webb

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With the pro bono assistance of many talented Supreme Court advocates, and an all-star Amicus Advisory Committee, FAMM Vice President and General Counsel Mary Price filed amicus briefs in six sentencing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. She and FAMM finished the year with a solid two-for-five performance (with one case yet to be decided).

FAMM was victorious in Abbot and Gould v. United States, a case involving a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence for an offense involving a machine gun. FAMM argued that judges should not be allowed to tack on such a penalty; rather the penalty can be imposed only if the defendant was indicted and found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of using a machine gun. In FAMM’s other win, Carachuri–Rosendo v. Holder, the Court ruled that a person convicted under state law for simple drug possession (a federal misdemeanor) has not been “convicted” of an “aggravated

A PAir of WinS Before the SuPreme court

National News

felony” under the Immigration and Nationality Act even though he theoretically could have been prosecuted for recidivist simple possession (a federal felony).

Impressively, even in one of the cases in which FAMM’s side lost, its brief was cited during oral arguments by Justice Anthony Kennedy. In Barber v. Thomas, the justices struggled to understand how the Bureau of Prisons justifies its flawed calculation of “good time” credit for well-behaved federal prisoners. During the argument, some of the justices asked whether the “rule of lenity” (which gives deference to the defendant if there is uncertainty) should apply if they found the law ambiguous. Justice Kennedy cited FAMM’s brief to explain why the rule of lenity could reach the good time law.

FAMM was not resigned to the loss before the High Court and immediately began working on a strategy to fix the good time calculation by legislation. Be sure to watch for updates on this in 2011.

FAMM at the Supreme Court

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FLORIDA has some of the most punitive mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes in the country. These penalties are unduly severe, very costly, and cause significant racial disparity in sentencing. Florida’s legislature has recently recognized the need to shrink its prison population and has expressed interest in including mandatory minimum sentences as part of the possible solution.

FAMM hired Greg Newburn to lead its Florida campaign strategy. Over the course of 2010, FAMM did not miss a chance to educate policymak-ers and the public about the need for and benefits of reform. FAMM

Regional News

PlAnting

in the SunShine

StAte

secured the support of sentencing reform by the influential Collins Center for Public Policy – a mostly conservative group supported by state business leaders. FAMM also briefed the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, met with key legislators, and discussed how sentencing reform can help solve the state’s budget crisis with members of Governor Rick Scott’s Council of Economic Advisors and Criminal Justice Transition Team. FAMM’s work in Florida was reported on by the Gainesville Sun, the Orlando Sentinel, St. Petersburg Times, Miami Herald and Orlando Weekly.

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FAMM achieved two signifi-cant state victories in 2010. In January, it concluded a multi–year campaign to reform New Jersey’s drug-free school zone by winning the passage of reform legisla-tion. The new law gives judges a “safety valve” to avoid the punitive mandatory minimum when it clearly should not apply. This

reform preserved the original intent of the law, which was to protect children from being targeted by drug dealers. FAMM shepherded the bill through the New Jersey Assembly and Senate in 2009.

In August, FAMM’s Massachu-setts project earned a hard-fought victory when the state House and Senate agreed to allow drug offenders serving mandatory minimum sentences in county jails to be eligible for parole. While the bill represents only a first step in FAMM’s plan to eliminate all mandatory minimums in the Bay State, its passage would not have happened without the persistence of FAMM’s state director, Barbara Dougan, and the group’s growing state membership.

Barbara and communications director Monica Pratt Raffanel also upped FAMM’s media presence in the state. Op-eds authored by Barbara appeared in the Mas-sachusetts Republican, Attleboro Sun Chronicle, Blue Mass Group

(the most popular political blog in the state), and in Mass Dissent (the newsletter of the state chapter of the National Lawyers Guild). On May 13, with the assistance of Barbara and Monica, the Boston Globe published an editorial that mentioned FAMM and a column by Yvonne Abraham featuring FAMM team member Michelle Collette.

In a testament to FAMM’s leader-ship role, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick included a statement from Barbara in the press release he issued on August 6 when he signed the bill into law. A few days later, Barbara was invited to speak at the Governor’s rally.

Since the law went into effect, FAMM has heard from many indi-viduals who have benefited from its reforms. One FAMM member wrote, “I went in front of the Parole Board to meet my fate. Just like that my whole life and world changed. Yes, I was paroled! I will be a free man after 17 long years.”

Massachusetts and New Jersey A r e h o m e t o l A t e S t f A m m V i c t o r i e S

Regional News

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signs sentencing reform legislation, as FAMM's Barbara Dougan (far right) watches.

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Media

300,000visitors on FAMM’s website in 2010. There were a total of 1,104,140 views of individual pages on FAMM’s website (or “pageviews”). This total translates to 800 visitors a day or 24,000+ monthly.

6,680 new friends on Facebook. FAMM updates its Facebook status at least once per day, with a variety of information, including links to its homepage, blog, news items of interest and advocacy and education tools.

125e-alerts to FAMM supporters on important sentencing developments and action items.

10,000total visitors to FAMM’s new blog, SentenceSpeak, which was launched in May 2010.

5,000new recipients of the FAMMGram newsletter; in 2010, the list grew from 8,000 to 13,000.

N U M B E R S Tell Story of Amazing Year in Media

2010 was one of FAMM’s most successful periods of media and public outreach in the group’s history. FAMM’s work earned coverage in dozens of major media publications across the country,

including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle.

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Finances54.99%

44.96%

0.05%

37.99%

6.10%

18.46%

37.45%

72.32%

13.39%

14.29%

Revenue 2010Foundation Grants $700,000Individual Contributions $572,316Interest Income $432

Expenses 2010Program Expenses $1,000,945Fundraising $197,842General Administration $185,263

Communications $380,357State & Regional Programs $374,703Federal Advocacy Program $184,793Special Projects $61,092

Program Expenses

Current Assets Cash and Cash Equivalents 600,667 Grant Pledges Receivable 87,745 Accounts Receivable - Other 1,762 Prepaid Expenses 21,278Total Current Assets: 711,452

Property and Equipment - At Cost Furniture 3,495 Equipment 4,052 Software 34,951 42,498 Less: Accumulated Depreciation (42,148)

Property and Equipment Net 350

Other Assets Security Deposit 2,632

Total Other Assets 2,632

Total Assets 714,434

Liabilities and Net AssetsCurrent Liabilities Accounts Payable 25,706 Accrued Vacation Payable 16,861 Accrued payroll and payroll taxes 8,789Total Current Liabilities 51,356

Net Assets Unrestricted Net Assets 113,078 Temporarily Restriced Net Assets 550,000Total Net Assets 663,078

Total Liabilities and Net Assets 714,434

Balance Sheet

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Board of Directors

Julie Stewart, PresidentScott Wallace, Vice PresidentJason Flom, Development Eric Sterling, SecretaryPaul Beckner, TreasurerCarmen Hernandez

Robert Batey Stephen B. Bright & Charlotta NorbyBlair G. Brown Bill Burkert Clifford N. BurnsteinGraeme Bush & Wendy S. RudolphCandace Carroll & Len SimonDonald R. Clark & Sonya NoelDavid Colburn Douglas B. Cox Douglas G. CullinaneBrian M. Deitte Mark Drake Ruth K. Dunklau Benjamin Edelman & Ruth WielgoszPhoebe Ellsworth Marc & Phyllis L. FleischakerJason R. Flom Lorrie Gazette Robert & Sandy GelfondJohn F. GilmoreEthan D. GrossmanPhilip D. Harvey Barbara Herzog Lynn & Bruce HolbeinEthelmae HumphreysDianne Hunter Brian Johnson & Gail KriegerBruce Johnstone Skipper Jones Woody Kaplan & Wendy KaminerRuth N. Kelley Honorable Joe Kendall Robert S. Kinkel David H. Koch Peter Kovler Alan Kraut & Jane Steinberg

John Kunze Robert D. Leppo Stephen O. Lesser Peter B. Lewis Donna R. Lochner Margaret & Daniel S. LoebArthur & Sandra ManleyJerry Mathwig Stan & Cynthia MerkinMarjorie Miller Phoebe Morales Patrick Mullin Laura & Rich Novak Kyle & Adele O’DowdGerry Ohrstrom Karen Orehowsky Kirk Perrow III & David D. PughStacy Pinter & Logan CrowellClark & Jan Pulliam John Ring Laurie Robinson & Sheldon KrantzSheldon Rose Steven M. Salky J. Barrie Sellers Bernard Selz Herb Silverman & Sharon Fratepietro Donald SmithPaula Smith Carol J. Smythe Girardeau Spann Craig L. Truman Michael L. Waldman & Linda CoeScott Wallace Al White, Jr. Richard B. Wolf Chic Wolk & Kristin Zethren

2010 Pro-bono Attorneys

Mark H. Allenbaugh Allenbaugh Samini Ghosheh, LLP, Irvine, CA.

Iris E. Bennett, Craig A. Cowie, Garrett A. Levin, David Z. Moskowitz, Kristina Filipovich, Eric SchwabJenner & Block, LLP, Washington, D.C. and Chicago, Ill.

Stephanos Bibas University of Pennsylvania Law School Supreme Court Clinic, Philadelphia, Pa.

Kelly A. Bohne, Leanne K. Maxwell, Jason StaversGibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, San Francisco, Calif. and Dallas, TX

Timothy Foden, Matthew Fornataro, Thomas Hanusik, Thomas “Tim” Means, Alexander Schaefer, Kyler Smart Crowell & Moring, LLP, Washington, D.C.

Jeffrey T. Green Sidley Austin LLP, Washington, D.C.

Peter Goldberger Ardmore, Pa.

Stephen B. Kinnaird, Sean D. Unger, Stacy E. Wiesbrock Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP, Washington, D.C.

Margaret Colgate LoveWashington, D.C.

Brian Willen Mayer Brown, LLP, New York, N.Y.

2010 Patrons of Justice

APC Components, Inc.Bank of America Charitable FoundationBernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation Council on Crime and JusticeCrawford-Doyle Charitable Foundation Crowell & Moring LLPJ.P. Humphreys FoundationLanger Grogan & Diver Fund for Social Justice IncOpen Society InstitutePublic Welfare FoundationReturning Home Foundation The Clorox Company FoundationThe Chase Foundation of VirginiaThe Limo Almi FoundationThe Pfleger Family Philanthropic FundUnitarian Universalist Fund for a Just SocietyWallace Global FundZimmer Family Foundation

2009 Foundation and Corporate Sponsors

Supporters

1612 K Street, NW Suite 700Washington D.C. 20006

202.822.6700 202.822.6704 faxfamm@famm.org www.famm.org

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