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Fifth Circuit begrudingly affirms looney mandatory sentence in Looney

By Douglas A. Berman

With thanks to the folks who alerted me to the decision, I can encourage everyone to check out the Fifth Circuit's work today in US v. Looney, No. 06-10605 (5th Cir. June 23, 2008) (available here), in which the panel criticizes federal prosecutors for a stacked indictment which resulted in a functional mandatory life sentence 53-year-old woman's first offense.  Here are the key closing paragraphs from the per curiam opinion in Looney:We have carefully considered all of Ms. Looney?s challenges to her sentence and can find no basis upon which to vacate any portion of it.  As we have noted, Ms. Looney was subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of forty years ? essentially determined by Congress.  Although Congress established the mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment, and further provided that the firearms counts must be served consecutively, it is the prosecutor?s charging decision that is largely responsible for Ms...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on June 23, 2008 (boomark / email).