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Fifth Circuit laments, but affirms, another crazy-long mandatory federal sentence

By Douglas A. Berman

The Fifth Circuit today affirms a very long mandatory federal sentence in US v. Sterling, No. 07-30001 (5th Cir. Jan 15, 2009) (available here), but the panel was clearly troubled by what it felt forced by the law to do.  The first two paragraphs of the opinion provide the startling basics: We are required to affirm a conviction for offenses that led inexorably to a 99-year sentence of imprisonment for a young, addicted drug dealer.  This sentence exceeds, in this court?s experience, what has been meted out to some drug trafficking kingpins.  Why the Government chose to pile on its indictment against Sterling, especially after he pled guilty to the Mullins incident, is not ascertainable from the Pre-Sentence Report (?PSR?).  This court is obliged to apply the law, but we expect that the prosecutor?s nearly unfettered discretion will not be abused...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on January 15, 2009 (boomark / email).