Rutherford v. United States · ¶115

In addition, no evidence supports the specter that the majority invokes. District judges around the country routinely impose mandatory-minimum sentences in tens of thousands of cases every year, as it is their oath-bound duty to apply the laws of the United States. See 28 U. S. C. § 453. There is no evidence that these same district judges are routinely granting compassionate release as an end run around mandatory minimums. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Commission received information regarding 61,678 cases in which a criminal defendant was sentenced. United States Sentencing Commission, QuickFacts on Mandatory Minimums 1 (2024), https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-andpublications/quick-facts/Quick＿Facts＿Mand＿Mins＿FY24.pdf (archived at https://perma.cc/5Q4L-9G3Z). Of all individuals sentenced that year, 15.9% faced a mandatory minimum at sentencing. That same year, judges…

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