FINALLY the US Supreme Court rules to strike down mandatory minimum sentencing
 

this is the first good thing i have saw our govt do domestically in atleast 5 years. way to stand up for sixth ammendment finally.


Jan. 14, 2005 | If you make your living as a defense attorney, the Supreme Court's decision on Wednesday declaring that current federal sentencing guidelines are unconstitutional is simultaneously cause for excitement and confusion. The decision could pave the way for judges to give lighter sentences to defendants who would have had no maneuvering room under the former system. But the decision, which left the federal guidelines in place but ruled that they must be "advisory" rather than mandatory, disappointed some defense lawyers who were hoping the high court would simply overturn the guidelines. And it's far from clear what the actual impact of the decision on sentencing will be.

The unusual two-part decision is already stirring up controversy, with outraged Republicans citing it as another example of judicial overreaching.

im proud of those old bastards today

I love the smell of two day old news in the morning...



Seriously though -- It's about time that manditory federal mins got tossed. The court had a good day on the 12th.

:thumbsup

awesome news

I was busy yesterday :upsidedow

It sounds like a fairer system, let's see it in action! :)

Where were you before the guidelines were put in place? There was a reason for them. Liberal judges were slapping criminals on the wrist and waggling a finger at them and saying "baaad boy. go sit in the corner for 20 minutes".

Problem is, many of the Federal minimums were a bit too harsh. By and large, it will all come down to how far up his ass each judge has his head. All in all I am glad to see it, but I'd like to see some sort of checks and balances in place for judges who simply refuse to be normal and put a violent criminal behind bars where he belongs.