September 4, 2024
Simplifying the First Step Act
The final rule on First Step Act (FSA) was only published in January 2022 in the Federal Register, over three years after President Donald Trump signed the legislation into law. Dep’t of Just., Bureau of Prisons, FSA Time Credits, 87 Fed. Reg. 2705 (Jan. 19, 2022) (to be codified at 28 C.F.R. pts. 523, 541). Like other criminal laws passed by Congress and signed into law, such as the Second Chance Act, the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) interpretation of FSA was narrow, and it was not until the Federal Register final rule that the real intent of FSA was clarified.