March 8, 2017 (Fault Lines) – The United States Supreme Court ruled on a major federal sentencing guidelines case this week. For the last decade plus, since the Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Booker, the guidelines have been advisory rather than mandatory. But most lawyers know the idea of “advisory” sentencing guidelines sounds great, but doesn’t always play out so well. With the opinion in Beckles v. United States, the Supreme Court keeps holding on to the fantasy that the guidelines are just advice, not rules.
Beckles considered a due process challenge to the advisory sentencing guidelines.
This Court
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