Some Helpful Guidelines Amendment Guidance – Update for September 25, 2025

We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

GUIDELINES ‘EXPLAINER’

Lebedin Kofman, a New York criminal law firm has published an online explanation of the Guidelines amendments that will take effect in less than 40 days. These changes – as we have repeated often – are not retroactive to anyone already in prison.

Still, knowing what those changes are may benefit people seeking compassionate release, other 18 USC § 3582(c) sentence reductions, or other resentencings.  Here are some highlights:

Departures: The most dramatic change eliminates the departure system that’s been in place for 37 years. LK says, “This isn’t just moving the furniture around; it’s tearing down the walls and rebuilding the house.”

There will still be departures for substantial assistance (USSG § 5K1.1) and early disposition programs (for aliens agreeing to quick deportation). However, the Guidelines system now will depend on calculating the base offense level and any adjustments, and then considering variances up or down under 18 USC § 3553(a), including the nature and circumstances of the offense and the defendant’s  history and characteristics. LK notes, “This requires more individualized presentations of mitigation evidence, which can actually work in your favor if your attorney knows how to leverage it properly.”

Drug offenses: For drug offenses, the amended Guidelines will focus on a defendant’s actual role in the offense rather than just the drug quantities involved. The Guidelines will now cap the drug quantity table at offense level 32 for defendants who receive mitigating role reductions under USSG § 3B1.2.

What’s more, new Guidelines commentary clarifies that § 3B1.2(a) minor reductions are “generally warranted” for defendants whose primary function was among the lowest levels of drug trafficking, including couriers, errand runners, message takers, lookouts, and defendants performing other low-level functions, such as distributing user-level quantities for little compensation or being motivated by intimate relationships or fear rather than profit.

LK said, “This is a game-changer for many defendants who previously got hammered with sentences based on drug quantities they had no real control over.”

Lebedin Kofmin, Federal Sentencing Reform: Major Changes Every Defendant Should Understand (September 10, 2025)

~ Thomas L. Root