Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005
Subject: #299 Supreme Court Rules On Sentencing Guidelines
SUPREME COURT RULES ON SENTENCING GUIDELINES
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DrugSense FOCUS Alert #299 – Mon, 17 Jan 2005
Last week’s pair of decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court on federal
sentencing brought a welcome ruling and also create concerns that
Congress will rewrite the sentencing guidelines in an even more harsh
manner.
The first decision ruled appropriately that federal sentencing
guidelines violate the right to a jury trial. Prosecutors routinely
raised various peripheral issues – not heard by the jury – that unduly
increased the length of a sentence.
The second decision changed the way federal judges determine
sentences, ruling they no longer are required to follow sentencing
guidelines – in fact mandatory rules written by a sentencing
commission – that have been in place for two decades. The court found
the sentencing guidelines unconstitutional because judges factored
them into the calculation after conviction – a violation of the Sixth
Amendment.
Prior to the ruling, 97% of federal defendants pled guilty – as a
result of a plea bargain – to reduced charges in order to avoid a jury
trial which could result in a much longer sentence. Thus federal
prosecutors made the decisions that led to the length of sentence –
which the judge followed using the so-called guidelines, as required.
We doubt that there are many United States daily newspapers that have
not provided news coverage of the decision. Many have, or will, carry
editorial page content on the decision. Thus letters to the editor of
your local papers, as well as those shown as having clippings in the
MAP archive, are appropriate.
Either the links http://www.mapinc.org/topics/federal+sentencing or
http://www.mapinc.org/topics/sentencing+guidelines will bring up a
list of potential targets for your letters. Because editorial page
content makes superb targets for your letters, we have created a list
linking to much of that content to date, below.
A blog written by Nora Callahan, executive director of the November
Coalition has ideas for your letter writing efforts. Start at
http://november.org/blog/index.php/20050113 and move forward thru the
blog using the calendar on the upper right of the page.
The Drug Policy Alliance wrote “The Court’s decision now opens the
door for Congress to address the issue of harsh federal sentences. But
there’s no telling what Congress might do with this opportunity. In
fact, we already know that some in Congress will take the Supreme
Court decision as an opportunity to increase prison sentences for
nonviolent drug offenders.” Please visit this page for more
information – and actions you may take: http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/011205sentencing.cfm
Thanks for your effort and support.
It’s not what others do it’s what YOU do
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Links to Editorial Page Clippings
Published Thursday, January 13th
US IL: Editorial: High Court Tweaks Rules in the Interest of Fairness
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n085/a06.html
US NM: OPED: A Just Plea
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n076/a02.html
Published Friday, January 14th
US DC: Editorial: The Court on Sentencing
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n075/a11.html
US NY: Editorial: Letting Judges Pass Judgment
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n091/a05.html
US MA: Editorial: Judicious Leeway
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n075/a10.html
US NY: Editorial: High Court’s Gift to Judges
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n075/a05.html
US MD: Editorial: Sentencing Sanity
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n085/a05.html
US NY: Editorial: Justice Pendulum Swings
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n092/a04.html
US TX: Editorial: Supreme Court’s Sensible Changes to Sentencing
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n092/a03.html
US ME: Editorial: Supreme Court Ruling Better for Justice
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n085.a02.html
US OR: Editorial: A Better Way to Set Prison Time
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n083/a10.html
US MO: Editorial: Court’s Decisions Tilt Toward Justice
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n082/a01.html
US CO: Editorial: Elbow Room for U.S. Sentencing
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n075/a07.html
US MN: Column: Court Deepens Sentencing Doubts
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n092/a02.html
Published Saturday, January 15th
US VT: Editorial: Sensible Sentencing
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n083/a12.html
US PA: Editorial: Federal Sentencing Guidelines Give High Court’s Ruling a
Chance
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n084/a03.html
US MI: Editorial: Let Judges Be Judges
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n085/a07.html
US IA: Editorial: Allow Federal Judges Discretion in Sentencing
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n082/a04.html
US KY: Editorial: Rethinking Sentences
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n082/a03.html
US FL: Editorial: More Discretion for Judges
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n083/a11.html
Published Sunday, January 16th
US IL: Editorial: A Verdict on Sentencing
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n093/a04.html
US WI: Editorial: Remedying an Injustice
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n093/a03.html
US PA: Editorial: Sentencing Guidelines: Restoring the 6th
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n085/a04.html
US GA: Editorial: Mandatory Sentencing Rejection a Wise Ruling
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n093/a07.html
US CA: Column: When Congress Plays Judge
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n089.a10.html
Published Monday, January 17th
US UT: Editorial: Checks and Balances
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n094.a14.html
US WA: Editorial: Judicial Discretion
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n094.a01.html
US RI: Editorial: Judges and Juries
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05.n094.a13.html
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Additional suggestions for writing letters to the editor are
at:
Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/
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PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER
Please post a copy of your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list (sentlte@mapinc.org) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to MGreer@mapinc.org if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts.
Subscribing to the Sent LTE list (sentlte@mapinc.org) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.
To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see
http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form
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Prepared by: Stephen Heath, MAP’s Media Activism Facilitator
= Please help us help reform. Send drug-related news to
editor@mapinc.org