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District Court Has Authority to Categorically Reject Sentencing Guidelines' Cocaine Powder-to-Crack Ratio; United States v. Ricks Overruled

By Candace Hom, Melinda Ghilardi, Nancy Rimmer, Sarah Gannett, Renee Pietropaolo and Tieffa Harper

In United States v. Russell, No. 07-4731 (3d Cir. April 23, 2009), the defendant challenged his sentence for possession with intent to distribute more than 5 grams of crack cocaine. The district court imposed a sentence of 87 months, the bottom of a guideline range of 87 to 108 months, which resulted from a total offense level of 27 and a criminal history category of III. The district court denied Russell's request for a variance, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), from the 70-to-1 ratio recommended by the guidelines for his base offense level. As an alternative, Russell had suggested a 25-to-1 ratio, which would result in a sentence of 60 months, the statutory mandatory minimum sentence.At sentencing, the district court had relied upon the Third Circuit's decision in United States v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Third Circuit Blog on April 28, 2009 (boomark / email).