Excerpt
(Excerpted from Supreme Court Debates, December 2007)
In 1986, the U.S. Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which mandated sentences for trafficking in crack cocaine that were significantly harsher than for infractions involving similar amounts of powder cocaine. The following year, the U.S. Sentencing Commission issued specific guidelines that included a 100:1 or greater ratio between crack and powder penalties. In other words, a conviction of possession of 5 grams of crack landed a person in jail for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years; it took 500 grams of powder cocaine to yield a similar sentence…
In This Issue
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Foreword
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Opinion of the Court
A Judge Can Disregard Congressionally Sanctioned Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Crack Cocaine Offenses
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Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Supreme Court Interpretation of the Law
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Crack/Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparities
The Impact of Federal Mandatory Minimum Sentences
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Lower Court Holding
Decision of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
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Before the Court
The Justices Weigh in During Oral Arguments
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Pro & Con
Can a Judge Disregard Congressionally Sanctioned Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Crack Cocaine Offenses?
