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Intriguing little discussion of relevant conduct from Seventh Circuit

By Douglas A. Berman

The federal courts are back in business today, and the Seventh Circuit has an intriguing little opinion today in US v. Alldredge, No. 08-2076 (7th Cir. Dec. 29, 2008) (available here).  Alldredge covers a lot of relevant conduct ground in a short space, and here is the tail end of the panel's notable discussion: The choice between a chargeoffense approach and a real-offense approach was made by the Sentencing Commission rather than Congress; §3553(a) is agnostic on this question. Kimbrough v. United States, 128 S. Ct. 558 (2007), holds that a district judge may disagree with the Sentencing Commission (after first being sure to understand what the Commission has recommended), as long as the court observes all applicable statutes. Perhaps the process of reconsideration on remand will lead to the same sentence; whether it does is a question for the district judge rather than the court of appeals.continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on December 29, 2008 (boomark / email).