cjjack
08-20-2004, 02:48 PM
INDIANAPOLIS — A man who would have faced more than seven years in prison will face less than five after a federal judge set aside mandatory sentencing guidelines that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review.
U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young said Wednesday that he was not giving a break to 33-year-old Todd Perry Redman of Mount Vernon, a convicted felon who was arrested on a federal gun charge.
The issue, instead, was whether the rules used since 1987 for sentencing criminals in federal court are constitutional, he said. He predicted the high court may soon come to that conclusion.
"There is certainly a constitutional cloud over the federal guidelines," Young said.
The Supreme Court said earlier this month that it would review the guidelines, which are similar to a state sentencing system the justices overturned in June.
That ruling triggered confusion in courts across the country as some judges declared the old rules unconstitutional while others continued using the system.
The high court long ago ruled the federal guideline system constitutional but has since begun re-examining the role of judges and juries in determining facts.
The guidelines were set up by Congress as a way to make sentencing more uniform and fair. Judges are given a range of possible sentences.
Although judges frequently complain that the guideline system leaves them too little flexibility, the rules also rely on judges to make many factual decisions that can affect a sentence, such as the amount of drugs involved in a crime or whether a gun was used.
Redman's case was typical of the type of cases affected by the controversy.
Under the old, points-based guidelines, he faced a minimum prison term of seven years and three months after pleading guilty to being a felon possessing a gun.
Instead, Young set his sentence at a maximum of four years and nine months.
Federal prosecutors charged Redman after police in Posey County who arrested him on a domestic battery charge found a gun in his car. Redman has a criminal record that includes assault and criminal confinement charges. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms.
The Courier-Journal
Louisville, Kentucky
U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young said Wednesday that he was not giving a break to 33-year-old Todd Perry Redman of Mount Vernon, a convicted felon who was arrested on a federal gun charge.
The issue, instead, was whether the rules used since 1987 for sentencing criminals in federal court are constitutional, he said. He predicted the high court may soon come to that conclusion.
"There is certainly a constitutional cloud over the federal guidelines," Young said.
The Supreme Court said earlier this month that it would review the guidelines, which are similar to a state sentencing system the justices overturned in June.
That ruling triggered confusion in courts across the country as some judges declared the old rules unconstitutional while others continued using the system.
The high court long ago ruled the federal guideline system constitutional but has since begun re-examining the role of judges and juries in determining facts.
The guidelines were set up by Congress as a way to make sentencing more uniform and fair. Judges are given a range of possible sentences.
Although judges frequently complain that the guideline system leaves them too little flexibility, the rules also rely on judges to make many factual decisions that can affect a sentence, such as the amount of drugs involved in a crime or whether a gun was used.
Redman's case was typical of the type of cases affected by the controversy.
Under the old, points-based guidelines, he faced a minimum prison term of seven years and three months after pleading guilty to being a felon possessing a gun.
Instead, Young set his sentence at a maximum of four years and nine months.
Federal prosecutors charged Redman after police in Posey County who arrested him on a domestic battery charge found a gun in his car. Redman has a criminal record that includes assault and criminal confinement charges. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms.
The Courier-Journal
Louisville, Kentucky