AG Gonzales urges judges to stick to sentencing guidelines News
AG Gonzales urges judges to stick to sentencing guidelines

[JURIST] Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged judges on Tuesday to adhere to federal sentencing guidelines, citing a growing disparity since the US Supreme Court invalidated mandatory guidelines in US v. Booker [JURIST report]. Addressing the National Center for Victims of Crime [advocacy website], he said he has seen a "drift toward lesser sentences". A report by the US Sentencing Commission [official website] says 11.4 percent of sentences since the ruling do not comply with the guidelines. Pending legislation in Congress would set new mandatory minimums, but former Attorney General Edwin Meese and former Deputy AG Philip Heymann are urging Congress not to rush into making changes. Read the full text of Gonzales' speech [US DOJ transcript]. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

South Africa becomes first country on continent to legalize same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriages became legal in South Africa on November 30, 2006 as the country's Civil Union Act, 2006 went into effect, making South Africa the only country on the African continent to legalize same-sex marriage. Read the Civil Union Act, 2006.