Criminal Law

Supreme Court Accepts Two Cases For Booker Reasonableness Review
The Supreme Court granted certiorari in the following two cases:Rita v. US, No. 06-5754 (presumption of reasonableness for within guideline sentence; from 4th Cir.):1) Was the district court's choice of within-Guidelines sentence reasonable?2) In making that determination, is it consistent with United States v...

Sadurski on Reasonableness & Value Pluralism
Wojciech Sadurski (European University Institute - Department of Law) has posted 'Reasonableness' and Value Pluralism in Law and Politics on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In law, the category of reasonableness, when used in a "strong sense", is inherently lined...

Interesting amicus brief on post-Booker sentences of probation
As noted here, the Third Circuit a few months ago granted rehearing en banc in US v. Tomko (panel decision blogged here), a case in which a panel members had written at length about reasonableness when reviewing a probation sentence...

Cunningham: California's DSL Struck Down
In Cunningham v. California, No. 06-6551 (Jan. 22, 2007), the Supreme Court held that California?s determinate sentencing law (DSL) violates the rule of Apprendi, because it authorizes a judge to enhance a sentence based on aggravating facts found by the judge, not the jury...

DC CIrcuit notes, then avoids, circuit split over ex post facto Booker issue
The DC Circuit yesterday in US v. Andrews, No. 07-3024 (DC Cir. July 15, 2008) (available here), had this notable discussion, and dodge, of ex post facto issues after Booker: [I]n its 2005 opinion in United States v...

Retreat Toward Mandatory Guidelines - Part II
The next round of post-Booker litigation didn?t have to wait long ? a day, in fact. In United States v. Cage, No. 05-5241 (6th Cir. 8/15/06), a panel of the Court finds that a "district court does not err in viewing the Guidelines as a presumptively reasonable starting point and ?considering the Sentencing Guidelines and the Guideline ranges before the court does anything else...