Number: RS20850
Title: FEDERAL SENTENCING: A SKETCH OF APPRENDI v. NEW JERSEY AND ITS IMPACT
Authors: Charles Doyle, American Law Division 
Abstract: In Apprendi v. New Jersey, 120 S.Ct. 2348 (2000), the Supreme Court called into question the sentencing role of federal judges. At the very least, the decision has required alterations in the manner in which federal drug statutes and similar provisions are prosecuted, and it may herald the demise of the federal sentencing guidelines. Apprendi holds that "under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment and the notice and jury trial guarantees of the Sixth Amendment, any fact (other than prior conviction) that increases the maximum penalty for a crime must be charged in an indictment, submitted to a jury, and proven beyond a reasonable doubt." The Court's sharp change of direction and the slim and fragile nature of the consensus among the members of the majority make predictions perilous. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that the various federal appellate courts have thus far construed Apprendi narrowly.
Pages: 6
Date: Updated March 20, 2001