Why does Idaho think its judges can't handle drug trafficking decisions?

I served as a U.S. attorney and understand the law. That's why I believe strongly that the Idaho legislature should consider a 'safety valve' for mandatory drug trafficking minimums.

Legislatures from across the country have adopted safety valves because they understand, and correctly so, that they simply cannot foresee – let alone legislate around – every possible factual scenario attached to a criminal offense set forth in code. Brett Tolman is a former U.S. attorney and the executive director of Right on Crime. 

For an Idaho mom and her 18-year-old son, Steven, the hope of a lesson learned was undermined following her son’s first-time arrest on a drug trafficking charge due to a draconian Idaho law that imposed a mandatory three-year prison sentence. 

Here, accountability is devoid of any focus toward directing Steven back on course. The judge has no authority to take into consideration Steven’s previously clean record, academic turnaround, and efforts of community redemption when determining the appropriate measure of accountability.