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17 December 2007 17:15

Recent Supreme Court Landmark Federal Sentencing Law Developments

On December 10th the Supreme Court decided two companion cases that essentially hold that the Federal Sentencing guidelines really are just guidelines. In other words, the sentencing court, after giving them consideration, is free to disregard them and impose the sentence the court thinks is appropriate in a given case. To understand the significance of this development, here is a brief overview of the history of the sentencing guidelines.