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#SCOTUS weighs #sentencing #law
The #SupremeCourt inaugurated a new term Monday by spending hours dissecting one word of a #criminal sentencing #statute, after turning away an appeal by lawyer John Eastman related to his efforts to help Trump block certification of the 2020 election.
The court’s new term will feature continuing controversies such as #GunRights, #abortion & challenges to the #power of #FederalAgencies.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/02/supreme-court-first-day-eastman-trump-jan-6/
But the first oral argument focused on whether #Congress’s use of the word “and” in a #statute authorizing lighter #sentences for certain #DrugDealers more properly should be read as “or.”
If that sounds straightforward, a trail of cases across the country that have split the lower courts & nearly two hours of argument at #SCOTUS indicated otherwise. “I think this is a very hard case,” said Justice #AmyConeyBarrett.
…The case involves an attempt by #Congress to give #judges more leeway in #punishments & provide a “safety valve” so that not all are subject to tough #MinimumMandatory #sentences.
But it has proven a #linguistic puzzle to judges across the country. The #statute says a defendant can become eligible for the safety valve if, among other things, the #offense was nonviolent & the defendant “does not have” certain previous convictions. The statute lists those conviction categories as (A), (B) & (C).