Stinson v. United States, 508 U.S. 36 (1993), is a decision of the United States Supreme Court that held Sentencing Commission guidelines may be cited as binding authority when courts issue sentences for criminal defendants.[1]
The Guidelines Manual's commentary which interprets or explains a guideline is authoritative unless it violates the Constitution or a federal statute, or is inconsistent with, or a plainly erroneous reading of, that guideline.
The case was argued at the Supreme Court March 24, 1993 by William Mallory Kent on behalf of Stinson and Paul J. Larkin for the Solicitor General of the United States. With Mr. Larkin on the Solicitor General's brief were also Acting Solicitor General Bryson, Acting Assistant Attorney General John Keeney, and John F. DePue. Robert Augustus Harper filed a brief on behalf of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as amicus curiae.
Opinion of the Courtedit
In JusticeAnthony Kennedy's unanimous majority opinion, the Court ruled that commentary issued by the United States Sentencing Commission (which promulgates the United States Sentencing Guidelines) that interprets or explains a guideline is authoritative unless it violates the Constitution or a federal statute, or is inconsistent with, or a plainly erroneous reading of, that guideline.[1]
Subsequent impactedit
The Stinson decision has had broad influence having been cited in over 1,000 other federal appellate decisions, including both Blakely v. Washington (2004)[2] and United States v. Booker (2005)[3] the cases which rewrote federal guideline sentencing law. The Stinson decision has additionally been cited in over 3,700 appellate briefs and over 250 law reviews.
Text of Stinson v. United States, 508U.S. 36 (1993) is available from:CornellCourtListenerFindlawGoogle ScholarJustiaLibrary of CongressOyez (oral argument audio)
stinson, united, states, 1993, decision, united, states, supreme, court, that, held, sentencing, commission, guidelines, cited, binding, authority, when, courts, issue, sentences, criminal, defendants, supreme, court, united, statesargued, march, 1993decided, . Stinson v United States 508 U S 36 1993 is a decision of the United States Supreme Court that held Sentencing Commission guidelines may be cited as binding authority when courts issue sentences for criminal defendants 1 Stinson v United StatesSupreme Court of the United StatesArgued March 24 1993Decided May 3 1993Full case nameTerry Lynn Stinson Petitioner v United StatesCitations508 U S 36 more 113 S Ct 1913 123 L Ed 2d 598 1993 U S LEXIS 3124HoldingThe Guidelines Manual s commentary which interprets or explains a guideline is authoritative unless it violates the Constitution or a federal statute or is inconsistent with or a plainly erroneous reading of that guideline Court membershipChief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices Byron White Harry BlackmunJohn P Stevens Sandra Day O ConnorAntonin Scalia Anthony KennedyDavid Souter Clarence ThomasCase opinionMajorityKennedy joined by unanimous Contents 1 Background 2 Opinion of the Court 3 Subsequent impact 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBackground editThe case was argued at the Supreme Court March 24 1993 by William Mallory Kent on behalf of Stinson and Paul J Larkin for the Solicitor General of the United States With Mr Larkin on the Solicitor General s brief were also Acting Solicitor General Bryson Acting Assistant Attorney General John Keeney and John F DePue Robert Augustus Harper filed a brief on behalf of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as amicus curiae Opinion of the Court editIn Justice Anthony Kennedy s unanimous majority opinion the Court ruled that commentary issued by the United States Sentencing Commission which promulgates the United States Sentencing Guidelines that interprets or explains a guideline is authoritative unless it violates the Constitution or a federal statute or is inconsistent with or a plainly erroneous reading of that guideline 1 Subsequent impact editThe Stinson decision has had broad influence having been cited in over 1 000 other federal appellate decisions including both Blakely v Washington 2004 2 and United States v Booker 2005 3 the cases which rewrote federal guideline sentencing law The Stinson decision has additionally been cited in over 3 700 appellate briefs and over 250 law reviews See also editList of United States Supreme Court cases volume 508 List of United States Supreme Court cases Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist CourtReferences edit a b Stinson v United States 508 U S 36 1993 Blakely v Washington 542 U S 296 2004 United States v Booker 543 U S 220 2005 External links editText of Stinson v United States 508 U S 36 1993 is available from Cornell CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez oral argument audio nbsp This article related to the Supreme Court of the United States is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stinson v United States amp oldid 1175150243, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
