Professor Fish Writes of Disparate Treatment of White-Collar and Undocumented Defendants

In an April 1 opinion piece in The Hill, Professor Eric Fish writes about how, under the First Step Act, FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried likely will spend less than 60% of his 25-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy charges in federal prison.

Bankman-Fried probably will serve a significantly smaller percentage of his sentence than thousands of undocumented immigrants do for crossing the border, Fish wrote, noting that “this disparate treatment is unjust.”

Professor Fish’s primary research is in criminal law, with particular focus on the ethical duties of participants in the criminal process, the structure of immigration crimes, and the system’s emphasis on administrative efficiency. Fish has served as a public defender, first with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, and later as a Federal Defender in San Diego.