Case summaries and commentary on recently decided criminal law cases in the Third Circuit provided by Federal Defenders and CJA Panel Attorneys.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Third Circuit affirms above-guidelines sentence; alternative sentencing ground is harmless error
The Third Circuit affirmed another above-guidelines sentence in an appeal contending that the plea was involuntary and the sentence unreasonable. In United States v. Schweitzer, No. 05-1301 (3d Cir. July 11, 2006), the court imposed a sentence nearly twice the bottom of the advisory range, noting that the sentence reflected consideration of the factors set forth in §3553(a). At the government’s suggestion, the court amended its decision to adopt an alternative sentencing ground, as an upward departure based on the guidelines’ under-representation of Schweitzer’s criminal history and likelihood of recidivism. On review, the Third Circuit determined that Schweitzer’s plea colloquy conformed to Rule 11 and constitutional mandates. The Third Circuit also held that the alternative, post hoc rationale of the upward departure had no effect on his sentence, which would have been imposed regardless, and thus any error was harmless.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Amendment 801 to § 2G2.2(b)(3)(F) is a substantive change to the Guidelines, and does not apply retroactively under § 2255
United States v. Maximus Prophet , 2021 WL 800384 (Mar. 3, 2021), https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/183776p.pdf Prior to...

-
Section 18 U.S.C. §3147(1) provides that if a person is convicted of an offense while under pretrial release, then in addition to the senten...
-
In United States v. Raul Rodriguez , Nos. 18-1606 and 18-1664 (3d Cir., May 1, 2019), Defendant pled guilty one count each of Hobbs Act ...
-
In United States v. James, No. 18-2569 (June 27, 2019), the Court of Appeals, through an opinion by Judge Jordan, affirmed the denial of de...

No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.