Federal Judges Are Required to Follow Mandatory Minimum Sentencing

(The content below was transcribed from an interview done with Acacia Law. We think you'll find it much easier
and more enjoyable to read this way.)

Interviewer: So these guidelines, are they mandatory minimums?

Acacia Law: Yes, they are mandatory minimums.

Interviewer: In that case, is the word "guideline" a misnomer?

Acacia Law: It's a complete misnomer. Now, there's actually a case heard by the US Supreme Court that when the guidelines were first passed by Congress, they stipulated mandatory minimum sentences that judges could not deviate from.

There was a case that went to the US Supreme Court challenging that, saying, look, you can't have judges that locked into these things. And the Supreme Court came out and said, "Well, the guidelines aren't mandatory but we really want people to follow them."

So the judge is pretty much stuck with the guidelines, unfortunately. Although you do find judges from time to time that are courageous enough to break away from the guidelines and do something different.