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Judge Gertner applies the safety valve while imposing a within-guideline sentence

By Douglas A. Berman

It is been a while since I have had a chance to talk up a new sentencing opinion from federal District Judge Nancy Gertner.  Joyfully, she provides sentencing fans with an early holiday present today through a lengthy opinion in US v. Matos, No. 05cr30012-NG (D. Mass. Dec. 18, 2008) (available for download below).  There are lots of parts of Matos worth quoting, but I thought readers would find intriguing the Judge Gertner's explanation for why she here decided to impose a within-guideline sentence (after finding safety-valve applicability to avoid a higher mandatory minimum sentence):  To be sure, in the Court?s judgment, the Guidelines sentences for non-violent drug offenders are much, much too high as a general matter to effect the purposes of punishment...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on December 18, 2008 (boomark / email).