Federal Judiciary

United States v. White, Docket No. 08-1180-cr., 2009 WL 50497 (2d Cir. Jan. 9, 2009)

Q:  Exactly what causes an upward departure in criminal history category?

A.  A whole lot of criminal history.  For White, it involved convictions for twenty-one offenses, six of which were felonies and many of which involved violence.  It also included several other offenses (some felonies, others misdemeanors) that were not included in the calculation of his criminal history.  As the district court put it, "virtually since the eighties, about every other year . . . Mr. White gets convicted of something."

Net-net, though, the upward departure only added 6 months to the advisory Guidelines range that would otherwise have been applicable, to which White had no objection.