SCOTUS announces Federal Sentencing Guidelines are Guidelines, Not Rules

- January 12, 2005 @ 10:28 am · Filed under Legalese

This news
is a few hours old and was predicted, but it makes me utter, “Wow,”
nonetheless.  The more interesting tidbit was how the 5-4 decision
was split:

Justice Stevens delivered the controlling opinion today and was joined
by Justices Antonin Scalia, David H. Souter, Clarence Thomas and Ruth
Bader Ginsburg. The dissenters were Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist
and Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony M. Kennedy and Stephen G.
Breyer.

More analysis to follow if I find time to review the Booker Opinion.

**

Also, it sounds odd to my moderate/slightly progressive ears that the
“Left” is trying to combat the “Right” by reappropriating its
terms.  I know that Dubya made his move first with “Compassionate
Conservatives,” but there’s something wrong with rebranding
“Communists” as “Left Libertarians.”  Orwellian “Newspeak” is coming from both sides.

2 Comments

  1. ToastyKen

    January 13, 2005 @ 5:41 am

    1

    Wow, I do believe that’s the most confusing article on a Supreme Court decision I’ve read. 🙂

  2. badxmaru

    January 13, 2005 @ 7:27 pm

    2

    so what does that mean in engrish?
    and how does it affect me
    one of my friends got hit up by the mpaa for downloading alias.
    i had to laugh at him.

    not as bad as the guy who got caught for bittorrenting Miss Congeniality.

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