Supreme Court skeptical of applying Trump-era criminal justice law retroactively for small drug offenses
John Fritze, USA TODAY
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WASHINGTON – A majority of the Supreme Court voiced skepticism Tuesday over allowing certain low-level drug offenders to seek reduced sentences under bipartisan criminal justice legislation signed into law in 2018 by President Donald Trump.
The appeal stirred a debate at the nation's highest court about Congress' intent when the First Step Act permitted some offenders to seek shorter sentences but not others. The landmark law was intended to ease tough-on-crime policies that swelled prison populations and had a disproportionate impact on African-American communities.