In a unanimous opinion from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court said Friday that trial judges may issue concurrent—rather than consecutive—sentences for individuals convicted of using a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime.

At issue was the breadth of a federal statute, 18 U.S.C. §924(c), that prohibits the use of a firearm in illegal drug trafficking. The law’s text notably bars trial judges from allowing defendants convicted under that section to serve multiple sentences at the same time.

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