Supreme Court Ruling Offers A Second Chance For Defendants Convicted Before The First Step Act
A popular setup for fish out of water stories is that the protagonist returns home after spending a long time isolated from the outside world and finds out how much everything has changed; in some such stories, the protagonist has been in prison for a decade or more. In a documentary about a man who served a prison sentence for attempting to dispose of the body of a drug buddy who overdosed in his presence, the protagonist told the audience that the biggest surprise was that, when he was released from prison, all his relatives and friends had cell phones, a technology that had not existed at the time of his trial. Technology is not the only thing that can change while someone is serving a prison sentence. The law can also change, and sometimes it affects your case. Consider that one of the arguments in support of decriminalizing cannabis, or at least rescheduling it, is that defendants are serving sentences for crimes committed long ago which, if they happened today, would barely register. The United States Supreme Court recently handed down a ruling that enables defendants to appeal their sentences based on changes to sentencing guidelines that occurred after the defendant’s conviction. If you are serving a sentence, with or without prison time, and you would like to appeal your sentence based on the Hewitt v. United States ruling, contact a West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyer.
Details of the Hewitt v. United States Ruling
In June 2025, the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the Hewitt case, enabling a defendant to appeal his sentence pursuant to the First Step Act, which went into effect years after he received his original sentence. Hewitt and his co-defendants were convicted of armed robbery in Texas in 2008 and sentenced in 2009. The laws on the books at the time indicated a mandatory minimum sentence for each count of a crime involving a firearm, even if the defendant did not discharge the firearm. During the crimes that gave rise to the Hewitt case, no one was injured, and no shots were fired, and yet the defendants each received a sentence of 325, which meant that they would be in prison for the rest of their lives.
In 2018, the federal government implemented the First Step Act, which eliminated or reduced some mandatory minimum sentences, including those for cases analogous to Hewitt’s. Under the new law, Hewitt would eventually become eligible for release from prison. The trial court rejected his appeal, and the appeal escalated through the appeals courts until it reached the Supreme Court. The Hewitt ruling may open the door for many defendants serving draconian sentences for crimes in which no one was injured to appeal their sentences.
Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today
Attorney William Wallshein has more than 41 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County. Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1002_1p24.pdf
