My first Magazine Final Draft Multimodal Project 4 | Page 8

e “Ronald Reagan Quote.” A-Z Quotes, www.azquotes.com/quote/859280.
xploding in size. Although the public had opposed such measures just a dozen years earlier,Rea-
gan unapologetically passed numerous reforms that legislated lengthy mandatory minimum sen-
tences into law.
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 clearly defined the framework for mandatory mini-
mum sentences that judges were obliged to follow. Judicial autonomy was severely restricted by
the aforementioned act with drug quantities being the primary determinant of sentence length.
Under this newly legislated act, Congress determined the undesirability of various drugs, imple-
menting more severe penalties for some than others.
“Report to the Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System”. United States Sentencing
Commission. Retrieved May 6,2014.)