From Ron Chapman’s new blog/website, “Federal Criminal Lawyer – Frequently Asked Questions”, comes this post titled in the form of a question, “How Can You Avoid a Minimum Mandatory Sentence in Federal Court?”:

In federal court, there are only two ways to avoid such a sentence:

1. Safety valve; and
2. Cooperation.

He then discusses how § 3553 (f) and (e) respectively allow for sentences under a mandatory minimum.

In fairness, I’m (a) being a smart ass, and (b) his post probably assumes without saying that we are in 3553-land to begin with.