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October 19, 2004
Supreme Court Considers Changes to Federal Sentencing Guidelines
The Supreme Court seems close to ruling on the constitutionality of federal sentencing guidelines, with an apparent 5-4 majority ready to strike down the current guidelines. The basis for overturning the guidelines is likely to follow a similar case in Washington state. This past summer the court overturned the Washington guidelines, arguing that because they allowed judges to increase a defendant's sentence based on evidence that was not proven to a jury they violated the sixth amendment to the constitution.
Sentencing Rules Get Hearing (washingtonpost.com)
Posted by mdbrenner at October 19, 2004 01:10 AM