Sara's Law

Bill: 116-hr-1950
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Westerman, Bruce [R-AR-4]
Introduced: 2019-03-28
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Child safety and welfare

Criminal procedure and sentencing

Juvenile crime and gang violence

Violent crime
Latest action: action_date: 2019-05-03
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-03-28
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Sara's Law</b></p> <p>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.</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1950 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as Sara's Law . 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. 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.