34
Stevens, J., dissenting
view in assessing the constitutionality of punitive damages awards on a case-by-case basis. See, e. g., BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 517 U. S. 559, 562 (1996). Also, although the Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to a speedy trial, the courts often are asked to determine on a case-by-case basis whether a particular delay is constitutionally permissible or not. See, e. g., Doggett v. United States, 505 U. S. 647 (1992).2
Throughout most of the Nation's history—before guideline sentencing became so prevalent—federal and state trial judges imposed specific sentences pursuant to grants of authority that gave them uncabined discretion within broad ranges. See K. Stith & J. Cabranes, Fear of Judging: Sentencing Guidelines in the Federal Courts 9 (1998) (herein-after Stith & Cabranes) ("From the beginning of the Republic, federal judges were entrusted with wide sentencing discretion"); see also Mistretta v. United States, 488 U. S. 361, 364 (1989). It was not unheard of for a statute to authorize a sentence ranging from one year to life, for example. See, e. g., State v. Perley, 86 Me. 427, 30 A. 74, 75 (1894) (citing Maine statute that made robbery punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years); In re Southard, 298 Mich. 75, 77, 298 N. W. 457 (1941) ("The offense of 'robbery armed' is punishable by imprisonment for life or any term
2 Numerous other examples could be given of situations in which courts—faced with imprecise commands—must make difficult decisions. See, e. g., Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U. S. 419 (1995) (reviewing whether undis-closed evidence was material); Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 U. S. 279 (1991) (considering whether confession was coerced and, if so, whether admission of the coerced confession was harmless error); Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668 (1984) (addressing whether defense counsel's performance was deficient and whether any deficiency was prejudicial); Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U. S. 168 (1986) (assessing whether prosecutorial misconduct deprived defendant of a fair trial); Christensen v. Harris County, 529 U. S. 576, 589 (2000) (Scalia, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment) (addressing whether an agency's construction of a statute was " 'reasonable' ").
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