7/13/2004 03:49:09 PM|||Nathan Moore|||

The Second Circuit has certified the question of the constitutionality of the federal sentencing guidelines to the Supreme Court of the United States.

I was unaware that this could be done, as to an extent such certifications could qualify as advisory opinions, and thus unconstitutional. Apparently, the practice used to be more common. A good history of the procedure is discussed by Volokh here, and further by SCOTUS blog, here.

If the Court will take the certification, an immense amount of confusion and judicial experimentation will have been avoided.

|||108975204955335268|||Sentencing Guidelines Near Zero Hour