Defender 2026 Annual Letter to Sentencing Commission

In May 2026, the Federal Public & Community Defenders' Guidelines Committee sent our annual letter to the Sentencing Commission requesting that the Commission prioritize various guidelines and other sentencing issues during the upcoming amendment cycle. Namely, we asked the Commission to prioritize: adding a federal defender ex officio member, narrowing career offender, equalizing meth offense levels, eliminating the large capacity magazine enhancement, adding mens rea throughout the Manual, reforming criminal history rules, reimagining quantity-based guidelines, ensuring the AOR reduction is appropriately granted, and engaging in new data and research projects.