Justice Department Pushes for Stricter Sentencing

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department is pushing for a legislative overhaul of federal sentencing guidelines that would require judges to enforce stricter sentences for those convicted in federal courts.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged Congress to re-establish minimum prison sentences for federal convicts as mandatory guidelines rather than suggestions for judicial consideration.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the mandatory minimum and maximum sentencing guidelines enacted by the federal government during the 1980s unconstitutional.

The 2005 ruling held that judges were not required to adhere strictly to the federal guidelines, but could consider them in determining sentences on a case-by-case basis.

The Justice Department wants a return to the previous system of mandatory sentences, when judges had the latitude to deviate from sentencing guidelines and grant leniency only in special cases or under exceptional circumstances, officials say.