Title: Sara's Law
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Sara's Law
This bill allows courts to impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum for a juvenile who was convicted of a violent offense against a person who engaged in certain conduct (e.g., trafficking, abuse, or assault) against the juvenile. It also allows courts to suspend any portion of an imposed sentence under these circumstances.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1950 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1950

  To authorize the court to impose a reduced sentence for a youthful 
                victim offender, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 28, 2019

Mr. Westerman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize the court to impose a reduced sentence for a youthful 
                victim offender, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as ``Sara's Law''.

SEC. 2. SENTENCING YOUTHFUL VICTIM OFFENDERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 3553 of chapter 227 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Sentencing Youthful Victim Offenders.--
            ``(1) Statutory minimums.--In the case of a youthful victim 
        offender, the court shall have the authority to impose a 
        sentence that is below a level established by statute as a 
        minimum sentence so as to consider the effect of trauma on the 
        offender's conduct.
            ``(2) Suspension of sentence.--In the case of a youthful 
        offender, the court shall have the authority to suspend any 
        portion of an imposed sentence.
            ``(3) Youthful victim offender defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term `youthful victim offender' means an 
        individual who--
                    ``(A) has not attained the age of 18; and
                    ``(B) has been convicted of a violent offense 
                against a person who the court finds, by clear and 
                convincing evidence, engaged in conduct against such 
                individual, not earlier than 1 year before such violent 
                offense, that is an offense under section 1591 or an 
                offense under chapter 71, 109A, 110, or 117.''.
    (b) Application.--The amendments made by this section shall apply 
only to a conviction entered on or after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 3. DIRECTIVE TO THE SENTENCING COMMISSION.

    Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United 
States Code, and in accordance with this section, the United States 
Sentencing Commission shall review and amend, if appropriate, its 
guidelines and its policy statements with respect to youthful victim 
offenders to ensure that the guidelines and policy statements are 
consistent with the amendments made by section 2.
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