SCOTUS Asked to End Split Over Sentencing Commission Commentary

The US Supreme Court is being asked to resolve a now-entrenched circuit split over the level of deference owed to commentary to the US Sentencing Guidelines after Kisor v. Wilkie.

On Dec. 1, Quindell Tyree Maloid filed what appears to be the third petition seeking the Supreme Court’s guidance on the issue this term.

For decades, courts deferred almost reflexively to the US Sentencing Commission’s interpretations of the guidelines under United States v. Stinson. But in 2019, Kisor altered the underlying standard of deference courts should apply to an agency’s interpretation of its own rules. But in modifying ...