Fix our criminal justice system

In signing major Medicare reform, President Obama touted a “significant bipartisan achievement” (“Obama signs $200 billion ‘doc fix’ bill,” April 16). Now is the time to build on this bipartisan momentum to fix our out-of-balance criminal justice system.

Lawmakers of both parties are intensely interested in these issues, as lawyers saw firsthand during the American Bar Association’s annual grassroots lobbying event this month. There is widespread concern over several troubling facts:

• The federal prison population has increased nearly 800 percent since 1980 and more than doubled since 1994, with spending up 1,700 percent since 1980.

• Federal prisons are currently operating at 132 percent of capacity, due largely to mandatory minimum sentences.

• Nearly half of all federal prisoners are serving sentences for nonviolent drug crimes.

• Over-reliance on prison has imposed a disparate impact on minority communities.

At the same time, America’s youths — including those charged with non-criminal misbehavior — are processed and imprisoned at much higher rates than in other comparable nations, too often leading to a lifetime in and out of jail and prison. Youths of color are disproportionately represented throughout the juvenile justice system.

Congress has two current avenues to enact bipartisan “smart-on-crime” reforms.

First, lawmakers can update the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Last reauthorized in 2002, the act supports a state- and community-based approach, with emphasis on prevention and early intervention. Reauthorizing legislation should require states to end jailing of youths for non-criminal status offenses, implement steps to reduce racial disparities in the juvenile justice system and strengthen access to counsel. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) proposed reauthorizing legislation last year and have indicated their intention to reintroduce the bill soon.

Second, Congress can enact reforms that reduce reliance on incarceration and promote public safety. Bills such as the bipartisan Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015 would reform mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and incrementally expand ways for judges to sentence below mandatory minimums. There are ongoing bipartisan discussions toward a criminal justice bill that would include parts of the Smarter Sentencing Act. We believe that serious sentencing reforms are necessary to any significant reform bill.

The ABA is heartened that interest in reforming our criminal justice system is widespread and crosses party lines. It’s time to come together and solve these issues on a bipartisan basis.

From William C. Hubbard, president, American Bar Association, Washington, D.C.

Clinton must win working whites

The Democratic Party of Barack Obama, a party drawn inevitably to identity politics, has alienated the white working class. Getting them back will take a politician with excellent communication skills. Clinton, in trying to re-establish bonds with this critical cohort, appears uneasy, off-key and inauthentic; she will have to do better.

From Paul Bloustein, Cincinnati