Hennepin County Judge Brought Crack Cocaine Disparities to Light in 1991

Congress recently repealed a mandatory minimum sentence for possession of crack cocaine—a sentence that was completely unfair and even, perhaps, racially skewed to favor more affluent powdered cocaine users rather than the largely African American crack-cocaine defendants. And it all began when a local judge ruled the sentence was unfair and biased.

Former Hennepin County Judge Pamela Alexander handed down a ruling nearly twenty years ago that stated the 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack and powdered cocaine was racially biased. For her opinion she received death threats and was passed over on her nomination to a federal bench. Looking back—she has no regrets.

According to the Star Tribune, Alexander applauds Congress for their action but is “saddened” for all the people who have been sentenced under the biased law in the last twenty years. The ruling from Congress won’t be applied retroactively, which means that although the law has changed, those sentenced under the old law won’t see any adjustments in their sentences.

The new federal law takes the previous disparity and reduces it dramatically. However, it doesn’t completely eliminate it. The old law had one man convicted of possession of 1 gram of crack serving the same sentence as another man convicted of 100 grams of powder cocaine.

Now, that ratio is reduced from 100:1 to 18:1. Luckily, under Minnesota law, there is no disparity. Because of Alexander’s original ruling in 1991, the state Supreme Court upheld her decision and there has since been a 1:1 ratio when referring to state criminal cocaine charges.

Does this lack of crack-cocaine disparity mean you won’t face serious penalties if charged with an offense involving crack? No. Minnesota is still very tough on drug crimes, we just haven’t had the obviously biased crack law that the federal courts did.

First degree possession of crack or powdered cocaine can land you in prison for up to 30 years. This applies to situations where you were found in possession of more than 25 grams of the drug in question. 100 Kilos of marijuana will give you the same potential sentence.

Possession of drugs isn’t always the minor case people make it out to be. If you’re facing charges like these, you need the help of an assertive defense attorney, willing to go to work on your case, helping to ensure you get the best results possible.