Page 10 - Katten Annual Pro Bono Review

substantial assistance and information to the government leading to the successful
prosecution of three other individuals, including the source of the conspiracy to
distribute in Jorge’s case. For these efforts, his sentence was reduced to 27 years,
though he still wouldn’t walk free until he was nearly 70 years old.

When Bonnie took Jorge’s case, she found that under current policies he likely would
receive a maximum sentence of 14 years, which he completed in 2016. President
Obama agreed that Jorge had paid his debt to society and signed a grant of executive
clemency, commuting his sentence as of December 1, 2016. Now 60 and sober, Jorge
is looking forward to returning to his wife, two children and home.

As of 2012, there were approximately 30,000 inmates with cases like Jorge’s, serving
life sentences for low-level, non- violent crimes. Adding to that, it costs more than
$30,000 per year to house each federal inmate. For these reasons, the Department of
Justice (DOJ) ceased to pursue the three-strikes rule for non-violent drug offenders
in 2012. Given the DOJ’s new policies, the question of how to handle prisoners who
were already serving life sentences due to the three-strikes rule arose and Clemency
Project 2014 began.

A non-government organization and bipartisan initiative of the nation’s private bar,
Clemency Project 2014 is composed of volunteer attorneys from diverse practice
backgrounds. Inmates who meet the DOJ’s minimum qualifications may request free
legal assistance as they apply for clemency. Attorneys such as Bonnie review their
cases and submit a petition to the DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney. Twenty-
six Katten attorneys have volunteered with Clemency Project 2014 over the past
two years, achieving three commuted sentences so far, though it is expected that
President Obama will commute additional sentences as his second term comes to
an end.

Bill McGonigle, a litigator in our Washington, DC office, joined Clemency Project
2014 when it first formed and, as a national coordinator for the program, he has
helped recruit volunteer attorneys and streamline their training. An estimated
4,000 attorneys have donated their time to the project across the country, which
has been billed as the largest pro bono project in US history.

10| KATTEN MUCHIN ROSENMAN LLP: annual PRO BONO REVIEW