Examining mandatory minimum sentences

Two distinct newspaper articles this morning both end up putting a critical spotlight on mandatory minimum sentencing:

• This article from Utah discusses at length Judge Paul Cassell's testimony last month in the House hearing on Booker (background here and here and here), and it begins by noting that "Cassell told a House Judiciary subcommittee that repealing 'irrational mandatory minimum sentences' is one way Congress could improve the sentencing process."

• This article from Pennsylvania explains that a recent sentencing memorandum from U.S. District Judge Jan E. DuBois "has rekindled a debate among jurists, legal scholars, criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors about the wisdom of mandatory minimums."  The article canvasses the traditional arguments given for and against mandatory sentencing terms in the federal system.