Supreme Court rules guilty plea sentence may be reduced if guidelines change
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Thursday ruled [opinion, PDF] 5-4 in Freeman v. United States [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report] that an individual whose sentence is imposed under a plea agreement may be eligible for a reduced sentence if the US Sentencing Commission (USSC) [official website] subsequently alters the sentencing guidelines. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (SRA) [text] allows the USSC to create and amend Federal Sentencing Guidelines [materials], and 18 USC §…
