The Supreme Court decided Congress didn’t mean “and” when it put that word in a 2018 federal criminal justice overhaul law that sets eligibility for a “safety valve” for defendants to avoid mandatory minimum prison sentences.
In a 6-3 decision Friday written by Justice Elena Kagan, the majority held the “and” acts more like an “or” when it comes to a three-prong test related to a defendant’s prior criminal history.
Kagan wrote that defendants would be disqualified for the safety valve if they meet any of the three criteria created by the law, rather than being disqualified only if they meet all three.
