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Split Third Circuit debates crack guideline retroactivity following binding sentencing plea

By Douglas A. Berman

In a complicated ruling on Friday, a divided Third Circuit in US v. Sanchez, No. 08-1847 (3d Cir. April 5, 2009) (available here), seemed to create a circuit split on whether a district court can reduce a previously imposed crack sentence based on a binding plea agreement.  The first paragraph of Judge Roth's dissent from the Sanchez majority provides a flavor of the issues involved: No good deed goes unpunished.  The majority provides for resentencing under § 3582(c) for criminal defendants who go to trial ? but not for those who enter into binding plea agreements.  For the majority, the binding nature of such agreements justifies a difference in the treatment between the offenders who choose to go to trial and those who choose to plead guilty thus saving judicial and governmental resources...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on April 05, 2009 (boomark / email).