Abstract
This article examines Kimbrough’s effect on crack cocaine sentencing. Part I discusses the rise of crack cocaine use in the United States during the 1980s. Part II provides a short history on modern federal sentencing, including the Sentencing Reform Act, the Commission’s Guidelines, and its reports to Congress concerning the 100-to-1 ratio. Part III examines the Supreme Court’s recent Sixth Amendment jurisprudence through its seminal cases, Apprendi and Blakely. In Part IV, this article analyzes the Court’s Booker holding as well as Kimbrough and Gall v. United States, two cases that clarified Booker and its application to crack cocaine cases. Finally, Part V compares the lower courts’ roles after Booker and Kimbrough, suggests that Kimbrough may not be the answer to the crack/powder disparity, and explains why Congress may and should revisit the crack punishment scheme.
Recommended Citation
Cassidy, Michael B.
(2009)
"Examining Crack Cocaine Sentencing in a Post-Kimbrough World,"
Akron Law Review: Vol. 42:
Iss.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/akronlawreview/vol42/iss1/3