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Little Sixth Circuit ruling flags enduring question over Kimbrough's reach

By Douglas A. Berman

The Sixth Circuit today has a seemingly minor ruling today in US v. Vandewege, No. 07-2250 (6th Cir. April 8, 2009) (available here), in which the court remands for resentencing in a crack case. The case is blog-worthy, howevere, because a concurrence by Judge Gibbons spotlights an enduring question about the Supreme Court's work in Kimbrough.  Here are snippets from her opinion:  Succinctly stated, Kimbrough held that ?district courts are entitled to reject and vary categorically from the crack-cocaine Guidelines based on a policy disagreement with those Guidelines.? Spears, 128 S. Ct. at 843-44.  Neither Kimbrough nor Spears authorized district courts to categorically reject the policy judgments of the Sentencing Commission in areas outside of crack-cocaine offenses, as the majority suggests...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on April 08, 2009 (boomark / email).