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Sixth Circuit: District Court Committed Procedural Error by Impermissibly Ceding Its Discretion to Congress to Determine Guidelines’ Crack-to-Powder Ratio at Sentencing

Loaded on Dec. 15, 2023 by David Reutter published in Criminal Legal News December, 2023, page 24
Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, Sentencing Findings, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range. Location: Michigan.

by David M. Reutter

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held a District Court commits “procedural error by failing to appreciate the scope of its discretion” and by indicating that policy “disagreements are not a proper basis to vary” from the Sentencing Guidelines. The Court also found ...

 

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  1. Dangerous Encounters: Interactions Between Autistic Individuals and Law Enforcement, by Casey Bastian
  2. Natural Language Processing Software Can Identify Biased Jury Selection, Has Potential to Be Used in Real Time During Voir Dire, by Jo Ellen Nott
  3. Louisiana Sheriffs Repeatedly and Conveniently Destroy Public Records, by Benjamin Tschirhart
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  6. Use of Forensic Genetic Genealogy Searches to Identify Suspects Needs Regulation and Can Be Challenged, by Matthew Clarke
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  8. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Clarifies Application of ‘Estoppel’ in Plea Bargain Context and Holds Trial Court Lacked Jurisdiction to Revoke Community Supervision After Statutory Term Expired, by Richard Resch
  9. Report Finds Effective Text Message Reminders Can Reduce Community Supervision Violations, by Jordan Arizmendi
  10. Third Circuit: Pennsylvania Conviction for First-Degree Aggravated Assault Does Not Require Physical Force so Is Not Qualifying Predicate for ACCA Purposes, by Douglas Ankney
  11. First Circuit: Justification for Upward Sentencing Departure Following Supervised Release Revocation Must Be Ade-quately Explained, by Matthew Clarke
  12. Sixth Circuit: District Court Committed Procedural Error by Impermissibly Ceding Its Discretion to Congress to Determine Guidelines’ Crack-to-Powder Ratio at Sentencing, by David Reutter
  13. Indiana Supreme Court Reverses Involuntary Manslaughter Conviction Where Trial Court Denied Defense Counsel Opportunity to Directly Voir Dire Prospective Jurors, by Douglas Ankney
  14. We the Targeted: How the Government Weaponizes Surveillance to Silence its Critics 2372, by Nisha Whitehead, John W. Whitehead
  15. Fourth Circuit: Disparate Sentence of 30 Years for Two § 924(c) Convictions Constitutes ‘Extraordinary and Compelling Reason’ for Early Release and § 3553(a) Sentencing Factors ‘Overwhelmingly’ Favor Sentence Reduction, by Douglas Ankney
  16. Massachusetts Supreme Court: Defense Counsel’s Overt Bias Against Own Client Constitutes Actual Conflict of Interest Requiring New Trial Without Need to Prove Prejudice, by Anthony Accurso
  17. New Mexico Ends Juvenile Life Without Parole, Retroactively Applies Rule to Previously Convicted Minors, by Anthony Accurso
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  19. Texas Using Highly Sophisticated Israeli Phone Tracking Software, by Jo Ellen Nott
  20. New York Court Rules Police Allowed to Use Familial DNA Searches, by Jordan Arizmendi
  21. ‘Criminal Courteaucracy’: Understanding the Unique Role of Criminal Court Administrators in Implementing Social Con-troll, by David Reutter
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  24. Kentucky Supreme Court Clarifies When Lesser-Included Offense Instruction Must Be Provided, Reverses Convictions Based on Trial Court’s Failure to Properly Instruct Jury, by Matthew Clarke
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  28. Maine Supreme Judicial Court Announces Clarification of Test for Violation of Right to Speedy Trial Under Maine Constitu-tion, by David Reutter
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  30. News in Brief

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