Mandatorysentencing, then, ismorallyacceptableonly if the mandatory punishment is at the lowest extreme ofthe continuum of reasonable penalties for the offense.
When the Supreme Court struck down mandatorysentencing guidelines in 2005, added Wisenberg, it granted judges a great deal of discretion in issuing sentences.
The Daily Telegraph's legal affairs editor Joshua Rozenberg said Lord Phillips' remarks reflected a general mood among the judiciary that mandatorysentencing had tied their hands.