The Sidebar: Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court case, Hewitt v. United States. The case centers on whether the Act applies to resentencings following vacated sentences, a point of contention regarding the interpretation of the phrase "a sentence for the offense has not been imposed." The justices debated the statutory language's ambiguity, considering the present-perfect tense and broader legal context, including the principle of vacatur. Arguments focused on whether the statute intended to address only initial sentencings or also include resentencings, with implications for fairness and finality of judgments. The Court grappled with potential anomalies and inconsistencies arising from different interpretations of the law.