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Notable Seventh Circuit opinion reversing (on procedural grounds) long drug curriar sentence

By Douglas A. Berman

The Seventh Circuit has a interesting sentencing opinion today in US v. Saenz, No. 09-3647 (7th Cir. Oct. 13, 2010) (available here), which gets started this way: Cruz Saenz received a whopping 293-month sentence for transporting drug money on one single occasion. The district court seemed to think that Saenz was involved in the conspiracy beyond this single incident and denied Saenz?s request for a minor participant reduction as a result . Finding no evidence in the record of any involvement beyond the single transport of money, we remand for the district court to reconsider whether Saenz should receive the minor role adjustment. There are many passages from the Saenz opinion that are notable, and these portion of the court's opinion struck me as especially interesting: It may be that when the district court said that Saenz was more than a courier, it meant he was not simply a totally unknowing mule...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on October 13, 2010 (boomark / email).