Nature of the Case
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Facts
Pennsylvania had a mandatory minimum sentence law that mandated a minimum sentence for certain felonies wherein D used a gun that was visibly possessed during the commission of the offense. The Act operates to divest the judge of discretion to impose any sentence of less than five years for the underlying felony; it does not authorize a sentence in excess of that otherwise allowed for that offense. The legislature had expressly provided that visible possession 'shall not be an element of the crime.' Four cases were brought before judges, and all four found the mandatory sentence law unconstitutional. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed and found the act consistent with due process. It held that the preponderance standard also satisfies due process for such a sentencing factor. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.
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