John Martin will quit his job for life as a federal judge next month, vacating 16th-floor chambers that are bigger than most Manhattan apartments.

Mr. Martin isn't leaving because of the salaries, though, despite 13 years on the bench, he still makes less than most young corporate lawyers. Nor is he departing because of the bitter Senate confirmation battles that leave judgeships unfilled and caseloads rising.

Instead, Martin will be retiring his judicial robes because of changes to federal sentencing rules that he considers so "unjust" that he no longer wants to work inside the criminal justice system.

Martin's reaction, though extreme, is part of a rare rebellion in the federal judiciary over new congressional strictures that limit the range of prison sentences judges can dispense. From Washington to California, normally reticent judges at virtually all federal levels are chafing at the guidelines that, among other things, eliminate flexibility in setting jail terms for whole categories of crimes.

The protests aren't coming from just a few disgruntled liberal judges, either. William Rehnquist, the chief justice of the US Supreme Court, has said he believes the changes go too far. Martin himself is a former federal prosecutor who was appointed to the federal District Court in Manhattan by George H.W. Bush.

The result: an enduring philosophical clash between two powerful branches of government - Congress and the federal judiciary - over who should have the ultimate authority in determining criminal punishments. "It's a very, very painful period for judges," says Daniel Freed, a Yale University law professor.

The source of the judicial ire is changes to the federal sentencing guidelines, made at the request of Congress, that went into effect last month. Under the new rules, judges who depart from the guidelines can face the possibility of their individual sentencing records being made public. They also face more scrutiny from appellate courts about sentences they give out.

Supporters of the new guidelines - including the US Justice Department and many Republicans on Capitol Hill - say the new measures were needed to rein in maverick judges and ensure uniformity of sentencing. But judges say the changes, included in a little-debated amendment attached to a bill about kidnapped children, has thrown the balance between discretion and consistent punishment out of whack.

"Every judge who daily has to deal with the most difficult issues of sentencing has the right to ask, Why does Congress hold the courts in such a low regard that they were uninterested in obtaining the views of those whose duty it is to fashion fair and just sentences in every case?" says William Young, the chief judge of the US District Court for Massachusetts.

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