Using examples drawn from valet parking and restaurant meals, the justices indicated that a federal law imposing mandatory two-year sentences should be read narrowly.
Legislation blocking a new crime law in the District of Columbia has drawn bipartisan support in the House, and Senate Republicans are working to win over Democrats.
The actor’s lawyers had argued that a firearm law included by the prosecutors was not in effect at the time of the fatal shooting. It would have carried a mandatory five-year sentence.
Although some states have approved cannabis sales, the federal government still considers it a serious drug. That muddle was on display in a case where a man faced 10 years to life in prison.
Criticism of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s sentencing decisions emerged as a theme among Republicans — and renewed debate about the party’s stance toward QAnon.