Survey of Post-Booker Sentences Reviewed In The Sixth Circuit

Recently, there was discussion about conducting circuit-centric surveys of post-Booker sentences and then compiling them for an upcoming House hearing on March 16th. That idea was quashed because of difficulties presented in classifying and compiling the information in certain circuits. Ultimately, the goal was to establish that appellate review is ensuring sufficient uniformity. In other words, that no Booker "fix" is necessary because nothing is broken. Before this ambitious project was scrapped, curiousity got the best of me (as it often does), and I compiled the stats for the Sixth Circuit.

As of March 7, 2006, there have been 11 decisions reviewing sentences imposed post-Booker (after 1/12/2005) -- four published and seven unpublished. Of those eleven, two involved above-Guideline sentences and both were affirmed as "reasonable" in unpublished orders; seven involved within-Guideline sentences (two published) and all seven were affirmed as "reasonable." The final two decisions (both published) were Government appeals of below-Guideline sentences: one of the sentences was affirmed, the other vacated.

In sum, thus far in the post-Booker era, the Government is prevailing in 100% of defendant appeals of within- and above-Guideline sentences, and 50% of its own appeals of below-Guideline sentences.