Interesting accounting of the "Top 5 Criminal Justice Reforms Advocates Want Under Biden"

Law360 has this notable new piece under the headline "Top 5 Criminal Justice Reforms Advocates Want Under Biden." Here is the preamble to the annotated Top 5 list, as well as the list itself:

Joe Biden's election as president has sparked hope among criminal justice advocates and organizations that his administration will overhaul the U.S. criminal justice system and implement reforms they have been seeking for years.

Biden's campaign website promises that the Democratic president-elect will "strengthen America's commitment to justice and reform our criminal justice system," and includes dozens of proposed changes to be made under his administration. But whether he will achieve all of these promises is unclear.

Advocates told Law360 that Biden's biggest challenge will be fighting political opposition and uniting Congress. However, they believe having a president who prioritizes criminal justice reform could sway lawmakers to pass legislation that has been collecting dust on their desks.

"Even though there's bipartisan consensus around the need for criminal justice reform, what that means in practice, what the fine print is, is where all the challenge is, and there isn't necessarily consensus right now," said Kara Gotsch, director of strategic initiatives for The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit research organization seeking to reduce incarceration rates.

Here are the top five criminal justice reforms that advocates told Law360 they want under Biden's administration and what the president-elect has promised he will do:

1.  Address COVID-19 in Prisons and Jails...

2.  End Mandatory Minimum and Life Sentences...

3.  Expand Decriminalization of Drug Use...

4.  More Policing Accountability and Alternatives...

5.  Expand Incarceration Alternatives and Community Programs...

Especially because there are three federal executions scheduled for this week, I am a bit surprised that this list did not include abolishing the federal death penalty.  I also know many advocates are eager to see clemency reform as part of the Biden agenda (though the commentary includes suggestions that aggressive use of clemency by Prez-elect Biden could help achieve these other goals).

Because there is so much criminal justice reform work to do, it will be quite interesting to see what CJ issues are given priority in the weeks and months ahead.  Of course, what gets prioritized and what actually gets done will not just be shaped by Biden's appointments to the Justice Department, but also by what folks on Capitol Hill might have in mind.  Especially with certain GOP legislators now talking about the importance of "unity," perhaps federal legislators can unify around getting some significant criminal justice reform enacted in the first 100 days of the Biden Adminstration.

Some prior related posts:

• Can we be hopeful federal leaders will make deals to advance federal criminal justice reforms in the next Congress?
• Tomorrow can be today for some Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force criminal justice recommendations 
• Reviewing CJUTF Recommendations: will the Biden Administration go all in with progressive prosecutors?
• Reviewing CJUTF Recommendations: how might the Biden Administration seek to abolish the death penalty?
• Reviewing CJUTF Recommendations: when and how might Biden Administration create an independent clemency board? 
• Pondering next steps in federal sentencing reform on the second anniversary of the FIRST STEP Act
• Lots of recommendations for criminal justice reform for the incoming Biden Administration 
• Exploring what Prez-elect Biden might (or might not) get done for criminal justice reforms
• "What Biden’s Win Means for the Future of Criminal Justice"