Los Angeles Times on sentencing system: In 2005, in a  complicated and confusing decision, the US Supreme Court cast doubt on the validity of rules designed to prevent federal judges from imposing dramatically different sentences for the same crime. On Thursday, the justices sensibly backtracked, ruling 6 to 3 that appeals courts could presume that judges who sentence within the guidelines are acting reasonably.
It’s not quite a case of all’s well that ends well. Thanks to micromanagement by Congress, the federal sentencing system is still marred by inconsistencies and injustices — such as the vastly harsher punishment meted out for possession of crack cocaine as opposed to the powdered variety.