Alleyne v. United States

Court Type: U.S. Supreme Court
Status: Closed (Judgment)
Last Update: December 12, 2012

What's at Stake

Whether the quantity of drugs involved in a crime must be decided by the jury before it can be the basis for a mandatory minimum sentence.

The Court has with increasing frequency in recent years insisted on the jury’s essential role in resolving factual issues related to sentencing. A decade ago, the Court ruled that any fact that increases the maximum penalty for a crime must be found by the jury. The issue in this case is whether the same rule should apply to any fact that triggers a mandatory minimum sentence. The ACLU argues that it should in an amicus brief submitted jointly with The Sentencing Project.

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