Federal Judiciary

United States v. Soto, et al., Nos. 08-0654-cr, 08-0706 (2d Cir. March 25, 2009) (found here)

The defendants signed plea agreements with the Government setting forth stipulated Guidelines ranges.  The Second Circuit does not disclose what those ranges were.  But we do know that the sentencing court "calculate[d] their applicable Guidelines ranges to be significantly higher than the ranges estimated in their plea agreements, and [] sentence[d] them within those ranges."  (For one defendant, the sentencing court calculated the Guidelines range to be 292 to 300 months; for the other it calculated a range of 121 to 151 months.)  The Second Circuit affirmed the sentences, noting (among other things) that sentencing courts are not bound by Guidelines calculations set forth in plea agreements. 

But it was clearly not happy about.  Indeed, it recognized the systemic problems when sentencing courts impose sentences at great variance from that which is anticipated by a plea agreement.  Read for yourself: