Federal courts in the Western District of Virginia are leading the nation in processing an ongoing wave of requests for resentencing in crack cocaine cases.

New, retroactive guidelines created by the U.S. Sentencing Commission became effective March 3 and made almost 20,000 inmates across the country eligible for sentence reductions. The new guidelines reduced the disparity between penalties for crack and powder cocaine offenses.

Sentencing commission figures indicated that as of April 14, the Western District of Virginia had dealt with more sentencing cases -- 324 -- than any federal district in the country.

The next district, Middle Georgia, processed 209 cases. At the other end of the rankings, five districts had processed only a single case each.

Of the 324 Western District cases, 226 were approved for sentence reductions.

Nationally, 3,647 resentencings were considered, and 84 percent were granted.

The Western District of Virginia began planning last year how to address the changes. At the start of this year, probation officers reviewed 977 cases, flagging 568 as eligible for sentence reductions and 113 people as eligible for release by the end of 2008.

"We just tried to plan early," said chief U.S. District Court Judge James Jones. "I really think the clerk's office and probation office deserve the credit."

Judges have given priority to cases in which sentences might be reduced to time served, then to cases where prisoners have filed motions for resentencing. Judges have said they intend to look at all crack cases, including those where no motion is filed.