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Two long and notable Eighth Circuit sentencing opinions

By Douglas A. Berman

One hallmark of the Eighth Circuit's sentencing work is its tendency to produce short and sweet (and usually pro-government) opinions.  For this reason, in addition to the substantive analysis, two lengthy (and divided) opinions handed down today seem especially noteworthy.  Here are unofficial summaries of the rulings (with links) from the Eighth Circuit's website: United States v. Durham, No. 09-2951 (8th Cir. Aug. 26, 2010) (available here): The court erred in applying a two-level enhancement for distribution of child pornography under Guidelines Sec. 2G2.2(b)(3)(F) as the court erred in finding defendant was knowledgeable about the Limewire file-sharing software and that he knowingly used the program to distribute child pornography; on remand, the court should consider whether the record supports imposition of an enhancement under Guidelines Sec...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 26, 2010 (boomark / email).