JUDGMENT AGAINST THE SENTENCING RULES

A high court ruling is likely to cause grief in federal courthouses,
but yield a fairer system.

The Supreme Court struck federal sentencing guidelines a mighty blow
Wednesday but, in doing so, struck a mighty blow for the
constitutional right of defendants to trial by jury.

A bare 5-4 majority held that an earlier ruling, that juries - not
judges - in state courts must weigh factors that can add years to
defendants' sentences, applies also in federal courts. At the time of
what has become known as the Blakely ruling, the solicitor general's
office predicted that, if the justices extended it to include federal
courts, the validity of thousands of sentences would be in doubt.

Whether such chaos will result is not yet clear. The New York Times
reports that federal courts impose some 1,200 sentences every week.
But during arguments in the federal cases decided Wednesday, Justice
John Paul Stevens noted that 97 percent of federal criminal cases are
settled by plea bargains. Those sentences would not be affected.

Whatever the short-term impact, the more important long-term effect
will be to bring greater fairness to the sentencing system.

The court majority acknowledged the federal guidelines were of noble
intent: to reduce wide disparities in sentences imposed by different
courts for similar crimes. The "guidelines" were mandatory, though.
And often, judges had to add long terms to those already required by a
conviction, based on aggravating factors that jurors had never heard
and considered.

In Blakely, the high court reasoned that allowing judges, rather than
juries, to rule on such facts gave too much power to judges. As a
practical matter, though, much of that power was passed to federal
prosecutors. They have been able virtually to dictate plea agreements
with threats of long sentences, because prosecutors controlled what
facts the judges would see.

The ruling on Wednesday does not invalidate the entire federal
sentencing system, but it says some of its provisions will no longer
be mandatory. Congress can fix it, and should.