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Reviewing all the (Tenth) Circuit sentencing action during SCOTUS distractions

By Douglas A. Berman

While I was focused on the Supreme Court's work last week, there were a lot of notable circuit rulings that I did not have a chance to cover.  Helpfully, a friendly reader provided me with this amazing summary of the Tenth Circuit's sentencing opinions from last week: US v. Huckins: The Circuit affirmed a downward variance in a possession of child pornography case. From an advisory Guideline range of 78-97 months, the district court imposed an 18 month sentence. In affirming, the Circuit explained: "But where, as here, the court decides to vary from the Guidelines after a careful, reasoned, and reasonable consideration of the § 3553(a) factors, we cannot say the court abuses its discretion." The concurrence stresses that the government did "literally, nothing" to argue that the sentence was unreasonable in a post-Gall setting...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on July 01, 2008 (boomark / email).