Cory Booker on Criminal Justice Reform

Perhaps no issue is more central to the career of Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey than criminal justice reform. His bipartisan criminal justice bill, the First Step Act, was signed into law in December, and Mr. Booker has made numerous other proposals to overhaul the justice system.

  • After the passage of the First Step Act, Mr. Booker introduced the Next Step Act in March, which would cut mandatory minimum sentences in half for nonviolent drug offenders; eliminate the discrepancy between crack and powder cocaine sentences; reinstate voting rights to former felons nationwide; and “ban the box,” meaning it would prohibit federal employers from asking job applicants about criminal history.

  • In a separate announcement this month, Mr. Booker said that on the first day of his presidency, he would offer clemency to more than 17,000 incarcerated people serving time for nonviolent drug-related offenses.

  • Mr. Booker has also introduced The Marijuana Justice Act, a bill that would legalize marijuana and expunge the records of those who have been charged with a crime for using or possessing it.

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