| Court: | US Supreme Court |
| Facts: | Gall was involved in an extasy-dealing scheme, but he withdrew, cleaned up his act, moved away, finished his degree, and was generally self-rehabilitated. |
| Posture: | Sentenced to probation; court of appeals reverses and remands for resentencing, because that was, after all, pretty light. Appeal. |
| Issue: | What is the standard of review for sentencing? |
| Holding: | Sentence is affirmed. |
| Rule: | Sentencing review is deferential; it should look only for abuse of discretion. |
| Reasoning: | Because sentencing guidelines are advisory, all that review should look for is whether the sentence was reasonable, since it is not for the appellate court to require guidelines of its own. |
| Dicta: | Dissent: why even have a sentencing reform act, if we're just going to put 100% discretion in the judge? |