Booker v. United States

Booker v. United States (2005) was a significant Supreme Court case that challenged the constitutionality of sentencing guidelines used in federal courts. The Court ruled that mandatory sentencing guidelines violated the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. Essentially, the justices decided that a judge could not increase a defendant’s sentence based on facts not found by a jury. This ruling allowed judges more discretion in sentencing while reinforcing the importance of jury involvement in determining facts that could influence penalties. The decision fundamentally changed how federal sentencing is approached, making it less rigid.