Dolan v United States
In a tragic day for jurisprudence, the Supreme Court of the United States Monday approved "fill in the blank" sentencing, allowing a court to decide details of a sentence (in this case the amount awarded for restitution) an indeterminate time after the defendant is convicted. Dissenting, Chief Justice Roberts wrote:
[If] a trial court can “leave open, say, the amount of a fine,” ante, at 12, why not, say, the number of years? Thus, after a defendant like Dolan has served his entire sentence-and who knows how long after?-a court might still order additional imprisonment, additional restitution, an additional fine, or an additional condition of supervised release.
BREYER, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which THOMAS, GINSBURG, ALITO, and SOTOMAYOR, JJ., joined. ROBERTS, C. J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which STEVENS, SCALIA, and KENNEDY, JJ., joined.
[If] a trial court can “leave open, say, the amount of a fine,” ante, at 12, why not, say, the number of years? Thus, after a defendant like Dolan has served his entire sentence-and who knows how long after?-a court might still order additional imprisonment, additional restitution, an additional fine, or an additional condition of supervised release.
BREYER, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which THOMAS, GINSBURG, ALITO, and SOTOMAYOR, JJ., joined. ROBERTS, C. J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which STEVENS, SCALIA, and KENNEDY, JJ., joined.