Judges may toughen sentences when guns used in crimes

WASHINGTON -- A sharply divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that judges can lengthen the prison sentences of people who use guns while committing other crimes, even if the defendant hasn't been convicted of any charge specifically involving the weapon.

With the 5-4 decision, justices avoided a ruling that could have threatened prison sentences of thousands of inmates and put in doubt sentencing laws in nearly every state.

At issue was federal prosecutors' practice of winning convictions for crimes such as drug dealing, then having a judge consider stiffer sentences because weapons were involved.

The Supreme Court said judges can decide whether defendants used guns in their crimes, using a lesser standard of proof than juries.

The case, involving a former pawn shop operator, had called into question mandatory minimum sentences nationwide. Circumstances of a crime dictate the lowest sentence a judge can give.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, said "not all facts affecting the defendant's punishment are elements" which must be proven to a jury. He said this case involved a sentencing factor.

"These facts, though stigmatizing and punitive, have been the traditional domain of judges," Kennedy wrote.

Stephen Halbrook, a defense attorney in Fairfax, Va., said the court is "allowing the whittling away of the right to a jury trial in a dramatic way."