After the Sentencing Guidelines took effect in November 1987, defendants across the country began filing constitutional challenges to the guidelines. By 1988, 200 district court judges would rule the guidelines unconstitutional while 120 would rule the opposite (Nagel, 1990). In an important ruling in 1989, the Supreme Court upheld their constitutionality in Mistretta v. United States where the sentencing crisis was resolved and marked an era of determinate sentencing for years to come. With over 200 district courts challenging the Guidelines in whole or in part based on alleged violation separation of powers, the due process rights of offenders and excessive-delegation arguments, it easily survived the constitutional scrutiny for the next
