Sentencing guidelines speech, Department of Justice, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, June 21, 2005 [urging judges to adhere to the federal sentencing guidelines, citing a growing disparity since the US Supreme Court invalidating mandatory guidelines in US v. Booker]. Excerpt:

The key to this system was a set of mandatory sentencing guidelines that specified a range within which federal judges were bound to impose sentences, absent unusual circumstances. The guidelines reflected a careful balancing by Congress and the Sentencing Commission between discretion and consistency in sentencing. But the mandatory guidelines system is no longer in place today, and I believe its loss threatens the progress we have made in ensuring tough and fair sentences for federal offenders.

Read the full text of the speech here. Reported in JURIST’s Paper Chase here.