PORTLAND — A judge cut the sentence he imposed Wednesday on a crack cocaine dealer by nearly one-third after applying a U.S. Department of Justice policy that treats powder and crack cocaine offenses equally and that claims federal sentencing guidelines are racially based.

According to federal law, sentencing guidelines for dealing crack cocaine compared to powder cocaine stand at a ratio of 18-1.

The ratio means guidelines for sentencing crack-related crimes are 18 times more harsh than for powder cocaine crimes.

Efforts to enact a so-called Equal Act that would treat crack and powder cocaine equally under federal law have failed to pass U.S. Congress despite a memo penned by Attorney General Merrick Garland that says current policy “drives unwarranted racial disparities in our criminal justice system.”

“I’m not going to apply a ratio in this court that the Department of Justice is telling me is race based,” U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock said Wednesday shortly before imposing a sentence of 35 months in prison on Devonne Scott, 31, of Sabattus for his conviction on two counts of distribution of a mixture of substance containing cocaine base.

There exists a great disparity among the number of Black defendants who have been convicted of and serve prison time for crack cocaine-related crimes than whites, Woodcock said.

He said the fact that the nation’s Justice Department is at odds with federal law puts federal judges in an “extremely uncomfortable situation.”

Woodcock said the policy position on disparity in sentencing adopted by the current federal Justice Department may remain or change under a new administration.

In July 2023, a confidential informant reported to the FBI that a man the informant knew had agreed, through texting, to sell crack cocaine to that informant.

On Aug. 1, 2023, the same informant met with Scott to buy crack cocaine, prosecutors said.

He was seen arriving at that meeting in a vehicle registered to him.

Officers identified Scott from photos and prior surveillance, prosecutors said.

On Aug. 10, 2023, after having texted with Scott, the informant made another buy of crack cocaine.

In another video-recorded operation monitored by the FBI, Scott was seen arriving to meet with the informant on a moped.

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration laboratory confirmed through testing that the substances purchased by the informant from Scott on each of the two occasions contained crack cocaine.

Scott pleaded guilty to the two crimes in September.

On Wednesday, Scott apologized to his family and the judge, saying he was humbled by the wrongfulness of his actions that had brought him to court.

A father, Scott said he plans to “get close to God” and be a better father.

Scott was raised in a fatherless home in poverty in Connecticut. At age 15, he was assaulted by someone with a knife, who permanently injured his eye, requiring him to wear glasses.

In 2010, two of his relatives were shot and killed in separate incidents. His best friend died from unknown causes while being held at a Connecticut juvenile facility.

When he was 17 he was arrested on multiple charges and was prosecuted as an adult under Connecticut law.

His father died young in 2013 from diabetes complications. Scott was in and out of jail into his mid-20s, according to his attorney, David Beneman.

In 2018, Scott was shot eight times as a victim of a robbery. Much of the shrapnel from that assault remains in his body and causes chronic pain, Beneman said

Scott was initially prescribed opiates and continued to self-medicate with drugs from the streets. He was a daily user by the time of his arrest in this case, as street “Perceset” became laced with fentanyl, Beneman said.

Judge Woodcock sentenced Scott to three years of supervised release after he serves his time in prison. During his release, he must seek mental health counseling and substance abuse therapy.