Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Members of the Committee, we are here this morning as Vice Chairs of the United States Sentencing Commission. We want to thank you for holding this very timely hearing and inviting us to testify today regarding the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Blakely v. Washington on the current and future operation of the federal sentencing guidelines. The Blakely decision represents potentially the most significant case affecting the federal guidelines system since the Supreme Court upheld the Sentencing Reform Act in Mistretta v. United States, particularly if it is, in fact, extended to the federal sentencing guidelines. The Blakely decision already has raised significant concerns regarding the validity of the federal guideline system.
Over the past three weeks, the Sentencing Commission has worked intensively with Congress, the Department of Justice, representatives of the federal judiciary, and other interested persons to analyze the impact...
