The Supreme Court transformed federal criminal sentencing on Wednesday by restoring to judges much of the discretion that Congress took away nearly 20 years ago when it enacted sentencing guidelines and told judges to follow them.
The guidelines, intended to make sentences more uniform, should be treated as merely advisory to cure a constitutional deficiency in the system, the court held in an unusual two-part decision produced by two coalitions of justices.
articleThe guidelines, intended to make sentences more uniform, should be treated as merely advisory to cure a constitutional deficiency in the system, the court held in an unusual two-part decision produced by two coalitions of justices.
[...]
From now on, Breyer said, writing for the majority in this portion of the decision, judges must consult the guidelines and "take them into account" in imposing sentences. But at the end of the day the guidelines will be advisory only, with sentences to be reviewed on appeal for "reasonableness."
I can only imagine the litigation over what is "reasonable". Maybe it's time to get that law degree. There should be plenty of work.
And I would expect that it will redirect some drug transport, as traffickers avoid states where judges hand out harsher sentences.
Let's see...what other types of activities will it affect?
No comments:
Post a Comment