United States v. Maurice Horton

It’s hard to imagine that when the federal sentencing guidelines became law, anyone thought appellate courts would tinker with sentences to the degree that they do today. After all, during our nation’s entire history, trial judges imposed sentences (cabined only by maximum terms prescribed by law) with, for all practical purposes, unlimited discretion. Appellate courts, during all those years, were rarely involved in sentencing, which was viewed as a unique, intensely personal, and often fact-specific process that did not lend itself to micromanagement from afar. But today, almost nine years…