WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal judges have the discretion to give `` reasonably '' shorter prison terms for crack-cocaine crimes to reduce the disparity with crimes involving cocaine powder . Lawyers argue that crack-cocaine offenders were unfairly targeted . The 7-2 ruling represents a victory for lawyers who argued that crack-cocaine offenders were unfairly targeted under U.S. sentencing guidelines . Current federal penalties for selling 5 grams of crack cocaine can warrant the same prison sentence as dealing 500 grams of the powdered variety . The Supreme Court case centered around Derrick Kimbrough of Norfolk , Virginia , who according to court records , pleaded guilty to distributing more than 50 grams of crack cocaine . Federal sentencing guidelines called for 19 to 22.5 years behind bars . But Judge Raymond Jackson instead gave the defendant a 15-year sentence , calling the case `` another example of how crack-cocaine guidelines are driving the offense level to a point higher than is necessary to do justice . '' A federal appeals court overturned the case and sent it to a higher court , saying Jackson 's discretion was `` unreasonable when it is based on a disagreement with the sentencing disparity for crack and powder cocaine offenses . '' Said Kimbrough 's attorney , Michael Nachmanoff in October , `` A sentence of 19 years for a man with no felony convictions who served his country honorably , who had never spent a night in jail ... that was ridiculous . '' Kimbrough is a veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War and is African-American . African-Americans were nearly 82 percent of defendants sentenced in federal court for dealing crack , but only 27 percent of those sentenced for dealing powder cocaine , according to 2006 federal statistics . Each year , federal courts handle about 11,000 cocaine sentences , which are roughly evenly divided between crack and cocaine cases . The issue long has been a source of contention between government prosecutors and civil rights advocates , who argue crack dealers are often targeted for longer prison terms because that drug is prevalent in urban and minority communities , while the powdered version is more commonly associated with higher-income users . Writing for the majority , Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg took a practical approach , saying it is important to preserve judicial discretion , while ensuring most sentences remain within federal guidelines established two decades ago to ensure a measure of uniformity . Ginsburg said a federal judge was right to give a crack offender a lesser prison term than the guidelines called for , since federal law `` mandates only maximum and minimum sentences , '' she wrote . `` It says nothing about appropriate sentences within those statutory guidelines . '' Ginsburg noted the trial judge `` honed in on the particular circumstances of Kimbrough 's case and accorded weight to '' reports by the U.S . Sentencing Commission that show `` the crack/powder disparity yields unjustifiably harsh sentences for crack offenders . '' Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented in the Kimbrough case . Thomas said it will now be up to courts `` to assume the legislative role of devising a new sentencing scheme , '' something Congress never intended . The government had no immediate reaction to the high court 's ruling . The U.S . Sentencing Commission -- an independent federal agency that advises all three branches of government on sentences -- recently cut the gap in recommended prison time for crack-cocaine offenses . The guidelines took effect November 1 after Congress decided not to overturn the changes . The commission is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to make those guidelines retroactive for prisoners convicted in the past of crack dealing . Almost 20,000 inmates could be eligible for shorter sentences under the proposed changes . Congress recently has introduced at least four bills that would reduce the current disparity in cocaine sentences . One widely circulated proposal led by Sens . Orrin Hatch , R-Utah , and Edward Kennedy , D-Massachusetts , would revise the cocaine ratio downward to 20-to-1 . That ratio is also supported by the Sentencing Commission . Harsher sentences for crack offenses came after a social epidemic of crack cocaine began destroying many urban areas in the 1980s . `` The crack-cocaine guidelines were put in place because crack was fueling crime waves across the country , in particular with respect to street violence , '' said Kendall Coffey , a former U.S. attorney in Miami who comments on legal matters for CNN . `` And it is clear that crack cocaine and white powder cocaine had a very different impact in terms of not only the lives of the users but the impact on the community . '' The case is Kimbrough v. U.S. ( 06-6330 ) . E-mail to a friend .
NEW : Justice Samuel Alito , Clarence Thomas dissent . NEW : Justice Ginsburg writes , ` ` law says nothing about appropriate sentences '' Supreme Court : Judges may impose shorter prison terms for crack cocaine . Ruling aims to shrink disparity between powder cocaine and prison sentences .