AG Gonzales calls for a Booker fix
Last Tuesday when I was driving down to the Carolinas, Booker mania seized the circuit courts. Today, as I drove back, apparently Booker mania spread to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
On Tuesday, in a major policy speech delivered to a conference of the National Center for Victims of Crime, AG Gonzales stated that the “advisory guidelines system we currently have can and must be improved.” He closed his speech by saying that he favored “the construction of a minimum guideline system.” Gonzales further explained:
Under such a system, the sentencing court would be bound by the guidelines minimum, just as it was before the Booker decision. The guidelines maximum, however, would remain advisory, and the court would be bound to consider it, but not bound to adhere to it, just as it is today under Booker.
A copy of the full text of AG Gonzales’ speech today advocating this Booker fix, along with a fact sheet put out by DOJ, can be downloaded below. The speech is also available at this link. I will have lots and lots of commentary on this major development after I have time to unpack.
Download gonzales_remarks_sentencing_guidelines_as_prepared.doc