Legal Experts Say Sessions Planning to Make Changes on Prosecuting Drug Crimes

Legal experts say a memo Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent to federal prosecutors this week suggests he plans to make changes to Obama Administration policies that sought less serious charges in some drug cases.

In 2013, Attorney General Eric Holder called for prosecutors to avoid seeking mandatory minimum sentences in some cases by leaving the quantity of drugs seized out of charging documents, Politico reports.

“Holder said you don’t have to charge mandatory minimums and it looks like they’re going to say, ‘Oh, yes, you do have to,’” said Ohio State University law professor Doug Berman. He told Politico that if new Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys push for more aggressive handling of drug cases, defendants could face more serious charges and longer prison terms.

Sessions has said he believes recent increases in murders are due to a drop in prosecution of drug and gun crimes during the Obama Administration, the article notes.