A pro bono project by Debevoise & Plimpton could potentially head to the US Supreme Court due to a brewing clash with the Justice Department (DOJ) over sentencing reform. Famed as “The Holloway Project”, this pro bono undertaking is focused on rectifying what its proponents call injustices of “stacked” mandatory prison sentences. At the center of these efforts is John Gleeson, a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, who served as a federal district judge in Brooklyn for two decades before joining the firm in 2016.
Dive into the full report on Bloomberg Law, which provides an in-depth discussion of the key issues at play.
The Holloway Project, named after Francois Holloway whom Gleeson had sentenced to a 57-year prison term, primarily represents middle-aged Black men who were convicted under a previously compulsory minimal provision for firearm-related crimes. This mandatory minimum requirement, which has since been repealed, imposed consecutive decades-long sentences for multiple charges, resulting in what Gleeson and his team argue as disproportionate punishments for these men.
The Holloway Project, according to Debevoise, aims to alleviate such sentencing outcomes for clients they believe have rehabilitated after long prison terms. A team of Debevoise lawyers has achieved significant success, managing to reduce prison sentences by a total of 2,230 years for 55 people to date. But now, new challenges have arisen.
The DOJ is contesting guidelines by the Sentencing Commission that came into effect in November, which Debevoise and others used to attain reduced sentences in some cases. Gleeson anticipates that this disagreement is bound for the Supreme Court.
The guidelines, effective as of last November, align with the argument presented by Debevoise, which allows criminal defendants, who have served at least a decade in prison, to seek sentence reductions based on changes to laws taking effect post-sentencing. However, the Justice Department argues that the Sentencing Commission overstepped its authority, effectively making the excessive sentence reduction portion of the law retroactive.
With this argument currently before district judges and appeal courts in various cases, Gleeson and others predict that it will ultimately reach the Supreme Court. This is a battle that Gleeson himself would not be able to lead, having recused himself from arguments involving the commission’s new guidelines, owing to his role as a member of the commission.
Despite Gleeson’s recusal, the Holloway Project continues under the supervision of Debevoise partner David O’Neil, who is expected to lead appeal efforts. O’Neil served as the leader of the DOJ’s criminal division prior to his tenure at Debevoise beginning in 2015.
For more details, view the original Bloomberg Law article.