What’s Up With the Supreme Court and Sentencing Guidelines?

Emily Bazelon, with whom I usually disagree, and usually vehemently, has this very interesting article posted on Slate in which she discusses the Supreme Court’s recent Cunningham decision, in which the Court struck down California’s criminal sentencing guidelines. Emily discusses the somewhat peculiar alliances at work in the case (Scalia and Thomas, joined by Chief Justice Roberts, voting to strike the guidelines down, while Justice Alito a former federal prosecutor and Justice Kennedy voting with the liberal block to uphold the guidelines), the Court’s recent sentencing jurisprudence, such as it is, and what might be ahead in this area of the law.