Top Court: Sentencing Rules Not Mandatory
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In a major criminal law decision, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that federal judges no longer must follow the long-criticized sentencing guidelines in effect since 1987.
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The Supreme Court appeared poised Monday to alter the system used for sentencing 64,000 federal criminal defendants a year, but justices clashed over whether changes would create greater inequity.
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on  Monday that an attorney does not have to get a defendant's  explicit consent to concede guilt at a trial when the client  faces a possible death sentence.
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Why a Supreme Court ruling on sentencing guidelines puts more power back on the bench
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Georgia's high court hears a case Friday concerning merits of a 10-year sentence for a sordid but unforced act.
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The Supreme Court said Thursday that athletic associations can enforce limits on recruiting high school athletes without violating coaches' free speech rights.
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WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court appeared poised Monday to alter the system used for sentencing 64,000 federal criminal defendants a year, but justices clashed over whether changes would create greater inequity.    Judges, not juries, consider factors that can add years to defendants' prison sentences, under the government's 17-year-old system which has been challenged as unconstitutional...
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The Supreme Court made it harder Thursday for most defendants to challenge their federal prison sentences.
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A court said Thursday the 1944 conviction and sentencing of a former Hungarian armed police captain for crimes committed during World War II cannot be enforced.
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The Supreme Court Monday announced the first consequences of its landmark decision to give federal judges greater freedom in sentencing, ordering federal appeals courts to reconsider more than 400 criminal sentences in light of the Jan. 12 ruling.
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WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court unanimously refused on Monday to broaden the impact of a law that adds extra prison time to the sentences of drug traffickers who use a gun in carrying out their crimes.
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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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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.  - A federal appeals court has  ruled that the formula used to determine light sentencing for a  former HealthSouth Corp. HLSH.PK executive was flawed and  sent the case back for re-sentencing.
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Allowing federal judges great leeway in sentencing criminals does not have to breed chaos, according to judges and sentencing specialists in states that already have such systems.
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The Supreme Court returned for another term Monday and wasted no time getting down to business, appearing poised to alter the system used for sentencing 64,000 federal criminal defendants a year.
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The U.S. Supreme Court opened its  new term on Monday, with the government's top courtroom lawyer  trying to save the long-standing federal rules used to sentence  about 1,200 criminals each week.
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The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that criminal sentences within guidelines set by a federal commission are generally entitled to be upheld on appeal, a decision that limits legal options for defendants who feel that they have been punished too harshly.