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"Strong deference to a district court's decision is not an invitation to rush to characterize an appeal from it as frivolous"

By harlanprotass

United States v. Davis, Docket No. 08-3240-cr (2d Cir. March 15, 2010) (found here)Davis appealed his 97 month sentence, arguing that it was both procedurally and substantively unreasonable.  Rather than file a substantive response, the Government filed a motion to summarily affirm the sentence, arguing that the grounds upon which Davis based his appeal were frivolous.The Second Circuit rejected the Government's arguments, and allowed Davis' appeal to proceed.  Initially, it expressed no opinion on the merits of Davis' arguments concerning the procedural reasonableness of his sentence, other than to note that it "rest[s] on neither fanciful allegations of fact nor inarguable assertions of law."  The Second Circuit's "central point" was that it would no view concerning procedural reasonableness "without completion of the appeal process...continue to full post

Full post as published by Second Circuit Sentencing Blog on March 15, 2010 (boomark / email).