Kimbrough v. United States
E649387
Kimbrough v. United States is a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that federal judges may deviate from the Sentencing Guidelines, particularly the crack–powder cocaine disparity, based on policy disagreements with those guidelines.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
criminal sentencing case ⓘ |
| appliesTo | United States Sentencing Guidelines NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
federal criminal law
ⓘ
sentencing law ⓘ |
| arguedDate | October 2, 2007 ⓘ |
| category |
2007 in United States case law
ⓘ
United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court NERFINISHED ⓘ United States Supreme Court cases on sentencing ⓘ |
| citation | 552 U.S. 85 ⓘ |
| clarified | extent of district court discretion under advisory Sentencing Guidelines ⓘ |
| concurrenceBy |
Antonin Scalia
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Clarence Thomas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decidedDate | December 10, 2007 ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 2007 ⓘ |
| dissentBy |
Anthony M. Kennedy
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Antonin Scalia NERFINISHED ⓘ Clarence Thomas NERFINISHED ⓘ Samuel A. Alito, Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| docketNumber | 06-6330 ⓘ |
| effect |
increased judicial discretion to vary from crack cocaine guideline ranges
ⓘ
recognized that the Sentencing Commission’s crack–powder ratio was not based on empirical data in the same way as other Guidelines ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | Derrick Kimbrough v. United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
A sentencing judge may impose a sentence outside the Guidelines range because the judge disagrees with the crack–powder cocaine sentencing disparity embodied in the Guidelines.
ⓘ
Federal district courts may deviate from the United States Sentencing Guidelines based on policy disagreements with the Guidelines. ⓘ The crack–powder cocaine ratio in the Sentencing Guidelines is advisory, not mandatory. ⓘ |
| influenced | later reforms to federal crack cocaine sentencing policy ⓘ |
| joinedByInMajority |
Anthony M. Kennedy
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ David H. Souter NERFINISHED ⓘ John Paul Stevens NERFINISHED ⓘ Samuel A. Alito, Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ Stephen G. Breyer NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | United States federal courts NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
crack–powder cocaine sentencing disparity
ⓘ
federal sentencing discretion ⓘ interpretation of advisory Sentencing Guidelines after United States v. Booker ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Ruth Bader Ginsburg NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| priorHistory | United States v. Kimbrough, 174 F. App’x 798 (4th Cir. 2006) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| recognized | district courts may consider the disparity between the Guidelines’ treatment of crack and powder cocaine offenses when imposing sentence ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
Gall v. United States
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
United States v. Booker NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| standardOfReview | reasonableness review for sentences outside the Guidelines range ⓘ |
| subsequentCitationBy | federal appellate courts reviewing crack cocaine sentences ⓘ |
| topic |
crack cocaine sentencing
ⓘ
policy-based variances from Guidelines ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.