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Notable briefing on fast-track disparity issue after Kimbrough

By Douglas A. Berman

As I noted in this recent post, one (of many) persistent post-Booker jurisprudence hot-spots concerns whether defendants who are not within so-called "fast-track" districts should be eligible for comparable early-plea sentencing reductions when their cases are factually similar to those who get the benefit of such reductions in "fast-track" districts.  A helpful reader has recently sent along two notable briefs that talk through this important issue with lots of sophistication and also provide lots of original information and documents concerning "fast-track" practices. The first document is an effective amicus brief, which can be downloaded below, that has recently been filed in the Seventh Circuit on these issues.  Here is the first paragraph of that brief: The Supreme Court?s decision in Kimbroughgives sentencing courts discretion to correct for unwarranted disparities created by the Department of Justice?s (DOJ) selective use of fast-track plea bargaining in illegal reentry cases, whether implemented through U...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 16, 2009 (boomark / email).