In a 7-2 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a judge's decision to violate federal sentencing guidelines and impose a shorter prison term on a man convicted of possession of crack cocaine, the Associated Press reported Dec. 10.

Weighing in on the controversy surrounding sentencing disparities for crack and powdered cocaine, the high court said that a judge had the discretion to sentence crack offender Derrick Kimbrough to 15 years in prison rather than the recommended 19 to 22 years.

The sentencing guidelines, laid down in the 1980s, treat crack offenses more harshly than offenses involving the powdered version of the drug. In its recent decisions, the Supreme Court has ruled that judges are not strictly bound by the guidelines in passing sentences on offenders.

Writing for the majority, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg said that the court "could not rationally conclude that it was an abuse of discretion" for the judge to give Kimbrough a shorter prison sentence. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

In another case involving mandatory drug sentences, the court ruled 7-2 in favor of a judge's decision to sentence an Iowa man convicted of conspiracy to sell ecstasy to probation rather than the recommended 30 to 37 months in prison.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has moved to reduce the disparity in sentencing guidelines for crack and powdered cocaine.