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Second Circuit reverses below-guideline child porn sentence as procedurally unreasonable

By Douglas A. Berman

The Second Circuit continues its robust work on reasonableness review in child porn cases with an intriguing new little decision reversing a below-guideline sentence in US v. DeSilva, No. 09-2988 (2d Cir. July 28, 2010) (available here). The opinion starts this way: We are called upon here to determine whether the United States District Court for the Western District of New York committed procedural error by engaging in clearly erroneous factfinding at defendant?s sentencing when it relied upon a psychologist?s report ? which was prepared for use at a pretrial bail hearing ? to find that defendant, an admitted child molester, posed no danger to the community.  We hold that the District Court did commit such procedural error and therefore remand for resentencing...continue to full post

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