Home -> Law Blog Directory -> State Law Blogs -> Showmeblawgs

State Law

: Showmeblawgs

By stan_sipple

United States Supreme Court reverses Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that sent nice white college kid to prison for helping to distribute ecstasy. GALL v. UNITED STATES (No. 06-7949)
446 F. 3d 884, reversed. The defendant participated in an Ecstasy distribution ring for less than a year still made $30,000 profit for his efforts to put over 10,000 X tabs on the street. He quit the ring because he feared other participants were to careless with secrecy. Years later he was charged and convicted of participating in the conspiracy and the guidelines range put the sentence at 30 months but the district court for the Southern District of Iowa sentenced him to probation. The Eighth Circuit reverses the order of probation, holding the departure was unreasonable. US Supreme Court reverses, holding that while the District Court must go to the trouble of counting guidelines sentencing ranges, it does not need to follow them if overall sentencing factors dictate a likely lower sentence. The defendant impressed the Supreme Court especially with his new career as a carpenter in Arizona and Colorado and his graduation from the University of Iowa. Dig a little deeper and I don't think you will find a rehabilitated defendant but a smarter one.

Full post as published by Showmeblawgs on December 10, 2007 (boomark / email).