HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 2

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Debbie A. Rodella

FOR THE INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THAT MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS ENACT LEGISLATION PROMPTLY TO ADDRESS THE DISPARITY IN CRIMINAL SENTENCES AND TIME SERVED IN PRISON FOR INDIVIDUALS CONVICTED IN FEDERAL COURTS VERSUS STATE COURTS AND THE RESULTING IMPACT ON NATIVE AMERICANS AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico legislature has always been committed to the fair treatment of all people and also to the notion that criminal sentences should be proportional to the crime committed; in other words, the sentence should fit the crime; and

     WHEREAS, the duration of federal court sentences and state court sentences based on the same criminal conduct can vary greatly; and

     WHEREAS, federal court sentences are often longer than state court sentences for a number of reasons, including mandatory minimum sentences for many crimes adjudicated in federal courts; and

     WHEREAS, for certain crimes, federal law requires mandatory minimum prison terms to be served consecutively, called "stacking", not concurrently with each other and with any other punishment the person receives for the underlying offense, which results in lengthy sentences; and

     WHEREAS, in many states, courts have the ability to run sentences concurrently or consecutively, depending on the crime, prior infractions and aggravating or mitigating circumstances; and

     WHEREAS, earned meritorious deductions in prison time, also known as "good time", in many cases will reduce a person's jail time more in a state prison than in a federal prison; and

     WHEREAS, state judges often impose either a deferred sentence or a conditional discharge, which means the person convicted spends little or even no time in jail, provided that the defendant successfully completes all of the terms of probation; and

     WHEREAS, although the federal criminal justice system does offer pretrial diversion for certain offenders, it is underutilized, and it is unavailable for certain crimes involving controlled substances; and

     WHEREAS, criminal jurisdiction, which controls the court in which a case will be heard, for crimes committed on Native American reservation or trust land depends on where the crime occurred, who the perpetrator was and who the victim was; and

     WHEREAS, often, if a crime occurs on reservation or trust land and either the perpetrator or the victim is Native American, the case will go to federal court; and

     WHEREAS, for crimes on reservation or trust land, if both the perpetrator and the victim are non-Native American, the case will be heard in state court; and

     WHEREAS, this idiosyncrasy in jurisdictional jurisprudence leads to a situation in which Native Americans accused of a crime are more likely to go to federal court than non-Native Americans accused of the same crime; and

     WHEREAS, for those individuals from states in which there are no federal prisons, like New Mexico, the travel to visit a federal prisoner is an additional hardship for the family, the friends and the prisoner;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it respectfully request members of the United States congress to enact legislation promptly to address the disparity in criminal sentences and time served in prison for individuals convicted in federal courts versus state courts and the resulting impact on Native Americans and people of color; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the United States, members of congress and the commissioners of the United States sentencing commission.

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