Mr. Dick.

Mr.

Chief Justice, and may it please the court.

It is emphatically the province of the judiciary to say what the law is, but the advisory sentencing guidelines are not the law.

They are advisory.

As a result, when interpreting the guidelines, the question is not what the law is, but rather what is the non-binding advice that the commission is offering about what type of sentence should be imposed? On that question, the sensible approach is to defer to the commission on the meaning of its own non-binding advice and then have courts decide for themselves based on their own independent judgment whether to follow that advice in deciding what type of sentence they want to impose.

Now, this type of deference doesn't pose any of the problems that you get when you defer to executive agencies on the meaning of the binding rules that they promulgate and enforce.

The ex- reference in footnote five to the express delegation.