Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Third Circuit Blog

Criminal Law

: Third Circuit Blog

Closely Divided En Banc Court Affirms ?Gilded Cage? Sentence: Gall requires great deference to district court sentencing decisions

By Candace Hom, Melinda Ghilardi, Nancy Rimmer, Sarah Gannett, Renee Pietropaolo and Tieffa Harper

In United States v. Tomko, __ F.3d __, 2009 WL 1025876 (3d Cir. April 17, 2009) (en banc), the en banc Court (8-5) issued an important post-Gall opinion, reaffirming the principle that "[t]he fact that the appellate court might reasonably have concluded that a different sentence was appropriate is insufficient to justify reversal of the district court." Gall v. United States, __ U.S. __, 128 S. Ct. 586, 597 (2007). Judge Smith wrote the opinion affirming the district court?s sentence, and was joined in the majority by McKee, Barry, Ambro, Fuentes, Chagares, Hardiman, and Jordan (who had written the panel opinion denouncing the sentence).The district court had sentenced Tomko, a first-time, white collar, tax fraud defendant to three years of probation (the first of which to be served in home detention), 250 hours of community service, and the statutory maximum fine of $250,000...continue to full post

Full post as published by Third Circuit Blog on April 20, 2009 (boomark / email).