Who Gets the Last Word? SCOTUS Takes on Sentencing Guidelines Deference in Beaird v. United States
On April 20, the US Supreme Court granted certiorari in Beaird v. United States , No. 25-5343, agreeing to decide whether its 1993 decision in Stinson v. United States , 508 US 36 (1993), still correctly defines how much deference federal courts owe the official commentary accompanying the US Sentencing Guidelines. The outcome could reshape how federal judges calculate sentencing ranges nationwide. The Role of Sentencing Guidelines Commentary After Stinson v. United States The US Sentencing Commission was created by Congress in 1984 to “ reduce sentencing disparities and promote transparency and proportionality in sentencing .” The Commission issues guidelines in the form of a Guidelines Manual, which reflects the advisory sentencing scheme e stablished by the Supreme Court in United States v. Booker , 543 US 220 (2005) . In addition to the guidelines themselves, the Guidelines Manual includes policy statements...