Changes in Federal Statutes and Policy

Law changes on this page are shifts in a federal criminal statute, the Sentencing Guidelines, or Justice Department policy, and what the new text means in a case that is still open. These notes are not state-law updates.

What a law-change note covers

Two items are filed here. One is Directive 26-13 from the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division. Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald signed it on October 7, 2026. It tells fraud prosecutors to look at tax charges, to seek restraint of assets before charges, and to press on detention and at sentencing. It does not amend the mail, wire, or bank fraud statutes. Prosecutors still have to prove the elements Congress wrote. The memo is the Justice Department PDF.

The other item is the page on federal pardons and commutations. A pardon forgives a federal crime and does not erase the conviction. A commutation shortens a sentence being served. Both come from the President (U.S. Const. art. II, § 2), and a petition goes to the Office of the Pardon Attorney (28 C.F.R. § 1.1). That page is not a state clemency process.

Who a change reaches

A new statute, guideline, or charging memo can reach someone under investigation, someone already charged, and someone already sentenced, in different ways. A loved one can read the same papers. We need the client's permission before we share case details. Department policy can change what a prosecutor asks for before indictment. A guideline change matters at sentencing, and later only if the Commission makes it retroactive. A later statute does not increase the punishment for an offense already committed.

Statutes, Guidelines, and DOJ policy

Congress writes the statute. The text that governs is the text in force, subject to the Ex Post Facto Clause.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission writes the Guidelines. The judge starts with the manual in effect on the date of sentencing (18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(4)). If that manual would raise the range for an offense already committed, the Ex Post Facto Clause calls for the manual in effect when the offense was committed (Peugh v. United States, 569 U.S. 530 (2013)). Amendments often take effect on November 1. USSG §2B1.1, the guideline used for many fraud losses, was amended effective November 1, 2026, so the manual in effect at sentencing is the one to open. The manual is at ussc.gov/guidelines. This page does not restate the new loss table.

A retroactive amendment is the path into 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). The judge may reduce a sentence that was based on the old range, and only within the Commission's policy statement. One example already on this site is Amendment 782, the "drugs minus two" reduction, made retroactive by Amendment 788 effective November 1, 2014. In testimony for Prisology on June 10, 2014, Brandon Sample asked the Commission to give that reduction to people already in prison. That background is on his biography. A later amendment is retroactive only if the Commission says so.

A Justice Department directive binds the prosecutors it addresses. It is not a judgment, and a court does not have to follow it. It still belongs in the file when it describes how the government will charge, restrain property, or argue sentence. Opinions that apply a new rule are filed with the court-decision notes.

Papers to compare

Set the old text next to the new text. For a guideline issue, keep the date of the offense, the edition of the manual used in the presentence report, the plea agreement's waiver, and the judgment. For a charging-policy issue, keep the memo and the statutes named in the charging document. For clemency, use the packet the Pardon Attorney specifies. The clemency page describes that path.

How a consultation works

If a guideline amendment, a new statute, or a Department memo may touch a federal case, book a one-hour meeting with Brandon Sample. The meeting is paid. Send the form and we will contact you to set a time. The charging document, or the judgment if one exists, is enough to start.

Book a consultation and tell us what happened.

Book a consultation

Contact does not create an attorney-client relationship.