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

Criminal Law

: Fourth Circuit Blog

DC Use of Presumption of Reasonableness Requires Resentencing

By Jonathan Byrne

US v. Raby: Raby pleaded guilty to possession of child porn and faced a Guideline range of 210-262 months. Over the course of several sentencing hearings, during which Raby argued for a variance and the Government sang from the Guideline hymnal, the district court judge repeatedly stated that he didn't see how he could impose anything other than a Guideline sentence without getting reversed on appeal. In the end, he imposed a 210-month sentence, explaining that he wasn't at liberty to consider any of the several mitigating factors without being "unreasonable."Years pass, as the case languishes on appeal. In the interim, the Supreme Court decides Gall and other cases that both uphold the presumption of reasonableness as an appellate review tool, but make clear that district court's cannot apply it at the initial sentencing...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Circuit Blog on August 18, 2009 (boomark / email).