Mistretta v. United States 488 U.S. 361 (1989), was a Supreme Court case involving the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.[1]
In writing for the opinion of the court, Justice Harry Blackmun re-affirmed the findings and precedent set in the case J. W. Hampton, Jr. & Co. v. United States:
Applying this "intelligible principle" test to congressional delegations, our jurisprudence has been driven by a practical understanding that, in our increasingly complex society, replete with ever-changing and more technical problems, Congress simply cannot do its job absent an ability to delegate power under broad general directives.