High court bolsters sentencing guidelines
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In a closely watched decision, court's majority says they're more than advisory but less than mandatory.
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The US Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday in a case involving a Maine drug dealer that is expected to redefine and end confusion about the country&#39;s entire criminal sentencing system.
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The Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal judges can impose shorter sentences for crack cocaine crimes, making them more in line with those for powder cocaine Â a decision with a strong racial dimension because the vast majority of crack offenders are black.
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WASHINGTON - Federal sentencing guidelines that allow judges to impose harsher penalties on criminals without jury involvement should be upheld as constitutional to avoid mayhem in courthouses nationwide, a government lawyer told the Supreme Court Monday.   "This case concerns the constitutionality of 1,200 criminal sentences that take place in federal court every week," said acting Solicitor General Paul Clement...
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BIG ISSUE: The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether the system for sentencing federal defendants should be thrown out because it lets judges, rather than juries, decide factors that add years to prison time.
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The Supreme Court asked federal courts Monday to reconsider sentences for hundreds of defendants who contend they were wrongly punished under a sentencing system the court declared unconstitutional earlier this month.
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In developments Monday at the Supreme Court, the court:
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The Supreme Court considered Tuesday whether a jury unfairly sentenced a Pennsylvania man to death on a 17-year-old murder conviction in a case expected to clarify death penalty standards for attorney conduct and jury instructions.
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The Bush administration's faith-based initiatives got a boost Monday from the Supreme Court: a ruling that ordinary taxpayers cannot sue to stop conferences that help religious charities apply for federal grants.
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Nearly 200 inmates serving time for murder, rape and kidnapping will be eligible for immediate release following a ruling by the Delaware Supreme Court that some life sentences should be considered 45-year terms.
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The U.S. Supreme Court opened its  new term on Monday, with two hours of arguments on federal  sentencing rules and the rejection of some 1,800 appeals,  including a challenge by telemarketers to the government's  popular do-not-call list.
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A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that federal judges no longer have to abide by the controversial 18-year-old sentencing guidelines.
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday  invalidated part of the 18-year-old federal sentencing system  used for 64,000 criminal defendants each year and ruled that  the guidelines cannot be mandatory.
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By DON THOMPSON  SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal judge on Monday gave California officials six months to ease crowding in the nation's largest prison system, warning that court-ordered remedies could include limiting the inmate population and releasing some prisoners early.
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The court reaffirmed the principle that juries, not judges, must weigh factors that can add time to a defendant's prison term.
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The Supreme Court made it harder Thursday for most defendants to challenge their federal prison sentences.
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider the constitutionality of lethal injections in a case that could affect the way inmates are executed around the country.