Gall, Kimbrough and Crack Retroactivity:
Positive but Incomplete Steps in the Evolution of Federal Sentencing

Lynn Adelman

United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

&

Jon Deitrich

Law Clerk, chambers of Judge Lynn Adelman; Adjunct Professor of Law, Marquette University Law School

The week of December 10, 2007 was a momentous one in the area of federal sentencing law. The Supreme Court issued its long awaited decisions in Gall v. United States and Kimbrough v. United States, upholding the district court’s exercise of sentencing discretion in both cases, and the United States Sentencing Commission voted to make retroactive its recent amendments to the federal sentencing guideline for crack cocaine offenses. These were surely positive developments, but some curbing of enthusiasm may be in order.


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