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Fourth Circuit opinion reverses sentence when district judge refused to consider acquitted drug conduct

By Douglas A. Berman

A notable circuit sentencing opinion today from the Fourth Circuit in US v. Young, No. No. 08-4117 (4th Cir. June 28, 2010) (available here), provides a little twist on the usual circuit approval of sentencing consideration of acquitted conduct. Here is how the Young opinion starts and some key passages of its analysis: Darnell Young was convicted of drug-related charges and received a within-Guidelines sentence of 136 months? imprisonment. Young appeals his convictions and sentence, and the government cross-appeals the sentence imposed by the district court. We reject Young?s challenges, but we agree with the government that the district court erred when it concluded that the drug-quantity determinations made by the jury prevented the court from finding a different quantity at sentencing...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on June 28, 2010 (boomark / email).