Dorsey v. United States: Difference between revisions
create page, under construction |
expand background section |
||
| Line 24: | Line 24: | ||
== Background == |
== Background == |
||
=== Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 == |
|||
| ⚫ | <ref>{{cite court |litigants=Dorsey v. United States |vol=132 |reporter=S. Ct. |opinion=2321 |pinpoint= |
||
Until the 2010 changes in sentencing guidelines, there existed a significant disparity in how the length of sentences for the possession of crack cocaine and powder cocaine.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Dorsey v. United States |vol=132 |reporter=S. Ct. |opinion=2321 |pinpoint=2326 |court=S. Ct. |date=2012 |url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15864169166343013176&q=dorsey+v.+united+states&hl=en&as_sdt=2,11&as_vis=1 |accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref> These changes resulted from reports by the federal Sentencing Commission that the crack-to-powder mandatory minimum ratio of 100-to-1 was too high and unjustified.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Dorsey v. United States |vol=132 |reporter=S. Ct. |opinion=2321 |pinpoint=2328 |court=S. Ct. |date=2012 |url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15864169166343013176&q=dorsey+v.+united+states&hl=en&as_sdt=2,11&as_vis=1 |accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref> Along with Congress' acceptance of these proposals in the 2010 Act, Congress also directed the federal Sentencing Commission to "promulgate the guidelines, policy statements, or amendments provided for in this Act as soon as practicable, and in any event not later than 90 days".<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Dorsey v. United States |vol=132 |reporter=S. Ct. |opinion=2321 |pinpoint=2329 |court=S. Ct. |date=2012 |url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15864169166343013176&q=dorsey+v.+united+states&hl=en&as_sdt=2,11&as_vis=1 |accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref> |
|||
=== Edward Dorsey === |
|||
Edward Dorsey was convicted of unlawfully selling 5.5 grams of crack in 2008.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Dorsey v. United States |vol=132 |reporter=S. Ct. |opinion=2321 |pinpoint=2330 |court=S. Ct. |date=2012 |url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15864169166343013176&q=dorsey+v.+united+states&hl=en&as_sdt=2,11&as_vis=1 |accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref> As a prior offender under the pre-2010 sentencing rules, he would have been subject to a 10-year minimum; under the new law, he would have been not been subject to ''any'' such minimum due to the small nature of his possession.<ref>§ 841(b)(1)(B)(iii) (2006 ed., Supp. IV).</ref> The sentencing judge sentenced Dorsey to the 10-year minimum, applying the old rules because the conviction occurred prior to the effective date of the new law. This was upheld by the [[Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]].<ref>United States v. Fisher, 635 F.3d 336 (2011)</ref> |
|||
Due to a division among the appellate courts about when to apply the new sentencing guidelines, the Supreme Court granted [[writ of certiorari|review]].<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Dorsey v. United States |vol=132 |reporter=S. Ct. |opinion=2321 |pinpoint=2330-2331 |court=S. Ct. |date=2012 |url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15864169166343013176&q=dorsey+v.+united+states&hl=en&as_sdt=2,11&as_vis=1 |accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref> |
|||
==Opinion of the Court == |
==Opinion of the Court == |
||
Justice [[Stephen Breyer]] wrote the [[majority opinion]] for the Court, reversing the Seventh Circuit, and holding that ... text |
Justice [[Stephen Breyer]] wrote the [[majority opinion]] for the Court, reversing the Seventh Circuit, and holding that ... text |
||
| ⚫ | <ref>{{cite court |litigants=Dorsey v. United States |vol=132 |reporter=S. Ct. |opinion=2321 |pinpoint=2326 |court=S. Ct. |date=2012 |url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15864169166343013176&q=dorsey+v.+united+states&hl=en&as_sdt=2,11&as_vis=1 |accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref> |
||
===Scalia's dissent=== |
===Scalia's dissent=== |
||
Justice [[Antonin Scalia]], joined by Chief Justice [[John G. Roberts]] and Justices [[Clarence Thomas]] and [[Samuel Alito]], dissented from the decision of the Court, arguing that ... text |
Justice [[Antonin Scalia]], joined by Chief Justice [[John G. Roberts]] and Justices [[Clarence Thomas]] and [[Samuel Alito]], dissented from the decision of the Court, arguing that ... text |
||
<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Dorsey v. United States |vol=132 |reporter=S. Ct. |opinion=2321 |pinpoint=2326 |court=S. Ct. |date=2012 |url=http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15864169166343013176&q=dorsey+v.+united+states&hl=en&as_sdt=2,11&as_vis=1 |accessdate=28 December 2012}}</ref> |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
Revision as of 22:15, 28 December 2012
 | This article or section is in a state of significant expansion or restructuring. You are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well. If this article or section has not been edited in several days, please remove this template. If you are the editor who added this template and you are actively editing, please be sure to replace this template with {{in use}} during the active editing session. Click on the link for template parameters to use.
This article was last edited by Lord Roem (talk | contribs) 11 years ago. (Update timer) |
| Dorsey v. United States | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued April 17, 2012 Decided June 21, 2012 | |
| Full case name | Edward Dorsey, Sr., Petitioner v. United States |
| Docket no. | 10-699 |
| Citations | 567 U.S. (more) 132 S. Ct. 2321 (2012), 567 U.S. ____ (2012) |
| Holding | |
| The more lenient mandatory minimum provisions of the Fair Sentencing Act apply to defendants who committed a crack cocaine crime before the Act went into effect but who were sentenced after its effective date in 2010. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Breyer, joined by Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan |
| Dissent | Scalia, joined by Roberts, Thomas, Alito |
| Laws applied | |
| Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, 124 Stat. 2372 | |
Dorsey v. United States, 567 U.S. ____ (2012), is a Supreme Court of the United States decision in which the Court held that reduced mandatory minimum sentences for "crack cocaine" under the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 does apply to defendants who committed a crime before the Act went into effect but who were sentenced after that date.
Background
= Fair Sentencing Act of 2010
Until the 2010 changes in sentencing guidelines, there existed a significant disparity in how the length of sentences for the possession of crack cocaine and powder cocaine.[1] These changes resulted from reports by the federal Sentencing Commission that the crack-to-powder mandatory minimum ratio of 100-to-1 was too high and unjustified.[2] Along with Congress' acceptance of these proposals in the 2010 Act, Congress also directed the federal Sentencing Commission to "promulgate the guidelines, policy statements, or amendments provided for in this Act as soon as practicable, and in any event not later than 90 days".[3]
Edward Dorsey
Edward Dorsey was convicted of unlawfully selling 5.5 grams of crack in 2008.[4] As a prior offender under the pre-2010 sentencing rules, he would have been subject to a 10-year minimum; under the new law, he would have been not been subject to any such minimum due to the small nature of his possession.[5] The sentencing judge sentenced Dorsey to the 10-year minimum, applying the old rules because the conviction occurred prior to the effective date of the new law. This was upheld by the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.[6]
Due to a division among the appellate courts about when to apply the new sentencing guidelines, the Supreme Court granted review.[7]
Opinion of the Court
Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the majority opinion for the Court, reversing the Seventh Circuit, and holding that ... text [8]
Scalia's dissent
Justice Antonin Scalia, joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented from the decision of the Court, arguing that ... text [9]
References
- ^ Dorsey v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2321, 2326 (S. Ct. 2012).
- ^ Dorsey v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2321, 2328 (S. Ct. 2012).
- ^ Dorsey v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2321, 2329 (S. Ct. 2012).
- ^ Dorsey v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2321, 2330 (S. Ct. 2012).
- ^ § 841(b)(1)(B)(iii) (2006 ed., Supp. IV).
- ^ United States v. Fisher, 635 F.3d 336 (2011)
- ^ Dorsey v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2321, 2330-2331 (S. Ct. 2012).
- ^ Dorsey v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2321, 2326 (S. Ct. 2012).
- ^ Dorsey v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 2321, 2326 (S. Ct. 2012).