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Supreme Court Overturns Federal Sentencing Guidelines

HeadlineJan 13, 2005

In a pair of decisions, the Supreme Court has ruled that federal sentencing guidelines put in place two decades ago were unconstitutional because they violated a defendant’s right to be tried by a jury. The court ruled judges cannot increase sentences beyond the maximum that the jury’s findings alone would support. Although tens of thousands of federal prisoners are serving time now based on the now unconstitutional guidelines, the court ruled the decision is not retroactive. With the sentencing guidelines thrown out, judges will — for now — have more discretion in sentencing. But the Wall Street Journal reports that the end result may be harsher prison sentences. The Republican-led Congress is expected to now seek to reassert legislative control by pushing through aggressive mandatory sentences. The Department of Justice has already begun discussing how to set such rules without violating the Constitution. In other Supreme Court news, justices ruled that the government can deport people without getting the permission for the country of destination.

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