Widening the Avenues for Rehabilitation and Release in the Criminal Legal System Through a Revision of the First Step Act's Safety Valve Provision in Response to Pulsifer

Authors

• Drew Svensson, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Abstract

The note argues that the Supreme Court's decision in Pulsifer v. United States severely undermines the First Step Act by restrictively interpreting the safety valve provision, thereby limiting judicial discretion and increasing incarceration. To remedy this, the note proposes legislative revisions to the safety valve to expand eligibility for relief from mandatory minimums while maintaining public safety.

Disciplines

Law

Recommended Citation

Drew Svensson, Widening the Avenues for Rehabilitation and Release in the Criminal Legal System Through a Revision of the First Step Act's Safety Valve Provision in Response to Pulsifer, 32 Cardozo J. Equal Rts. & Soc. Just. 543 (2026).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cardozoersj/vol32/iss2/9