Supreme Court to Hear Drug Sentencing Cases Today

By Jeralyn, Section Supreme Court
Posted on Tue Oct 02, 2007 at 11:00:00 AM EST
Tags: drug sentences, Supreme Court (all tags)

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The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in two drug cases, Gall v. United States and Kimbrough v. United States.

The Kimbrough case will bring the disparate penalties for crack and powder into full focus. U.S. News today has some numbers on the sentencing disparity. The Gall case will define the circumstances under which a judge can sentence below strict federal sentencing guidelines.

In a nutshell, Gall's guidelines were 30 to 37 months for minor participation of limited duration in an ecstasy conspiracy. The Judge deviated from the Guidelines to a sentence of probation, the Government appealed and the 6th Circuit reversed the trial court.

The question in Gall (pdf):

More....

Whether, when determining the “reasonableness” of a district court sentence under United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), it is appropriate to require district courts to justify a deviation from the United States Sentencing Guidelines with a finding of extraordinary circumstances.

Sentencing Law and Policy has been following the case.

Whether the Supreme Court uses Gall to broaden or restrict the scope of post-Booker discretion, the decision in Gall is likely to impact greatly how all district courts sentence after Booker. The decision will also likely frame future debates over Booker as a new Attorney General (and eventually a new administration) takes stock of federal sentencing realities.

Here's Kimbrough v. United States, the crack case, in a nutshell :

The case involves Derrick Kimbrough, a black veteran of the first Gulf War. He received a 15-year prison sentence from a federal judge for dealing crack and powder cocaine and possession of a firearm in Virginia. But sentencing guidelines required a much longer sentence.

An appeals court later ruled that judges can&