U.S. Supreme Court Grants Review of Sentencing Guidelines

When the Supreme Court struck down the state of Washington's sentencing guidelines in Blakely v. Washington (6/24/2004), it left unanswered Constitutional questions about the federal Sentencing Guidelines. Now the Court has granted the Solicitor General's petitions for certiorari in U.S. v. Booker, 04-104, and U.S. v. Fanfan, 04-105, to consider "Whether the Sixth Amendment is violated by the imposition of an enhanced sentence under the United States Sentencing Guidelines based on the sentencing judge’s determination of a fact (other than a prior conviction) that was not found by the jury or admitted by the defendant."The Court ordered expedited briefing, and the cases are set for oral argument on Monday, Oct. 4, the first day of the new term.

Read commentary on the Supreme Court's granting these two petitions by SCOTUSBlog, law.com, and Sentencing Law and Policy. See SCOTUSBlog analysis and Sentencing Law and Policy analysis for background on the Blakely decision itself.