Minnesota judge weighs in

Last update: December 10, 2007 - 8:24 PM

"I'm extremely pleased," said U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum in Minneapolis, who has long pushed for more flexibility in federal sentencing.

Rather than looking at a mathematical grid as a starting point and a path to follow, he said, judges will be able to begin with the person who stands before them, taking into account individual circumstances and then look at the guidelines.

"What you're doing is sentencing an individual rather than starting with a grid," Rosenbaum said. "Rather than starting with a printed piece of paper and saying anything that we look at has to be viewed in light of the piece of paper. Now we start with the person first, and say, 'Does the paper amplify this in any fashion?'"

It's a shift from a view that once held that the guidelines were reasonable, yet the judge had to show a reason why he or she departed from the guidelines in sentencing and defend his or her sentence as not being unreasonable should there be an appeal, Rosenbaum said.

It was unclear how many cases in Minnesota could potentially be affected because it was still uncertain whether the decision would be retroactive.

"Whether or not this decision is retroactive, I can assure you there are really good lawyers at this minute beginning to draft various kinds of briefs and beginning to put together arguments in both direction. And that will now be the next battle," he said.

Rosenbaum said issues with mandatory minimum sentences remain, despite Monday's decisions. If a person does X, he said, the sentence must be Y. The guidelines cannot be lower.

JOY POWELL