Sentencing guidelines gain Supreme Court priority

A possible revolution in the federal criminal justice system will be on the agenda when the Supreme Court opens its new term tomorrow. In a rare two-hour afternoon oral argument session, the justices will consider whether the federal sentencing guidelines -- a manual of 400-plus pages meant to ensure that federal courts give defendants across the country approximately equal punishments for similar crimes -- can be reconciled with the Constitution. The court is hearing the case on an expedited schedule in response to the uproar and confusion created by a 5 to 4 ruling it issued June 24, just before leaving for summer recess. Until now, the general understanding has been that prosecutors charge defendants with a crime, juries typically decide whether they are guilty and, if so, judges impose the punishment. In recent rulings, however, a narrow Supreme Court majority has said the right to a jury trial also includes the right to have a jury decide the key facts that determine a sentence. Other than a prior conviction, "any fact that increases the penalty for a crime" must be decided by the jury or admitted by the defendant, Justice Antonin Scalia said for a 5-4 majority in the case of Blakeley vs. Washington. [more ] and [more ] and[more ]