In United States v. Bailey, the Sixth Circuit added to its expanding and “less than clear” First Step Act jurisprudence.
In 2008, Mr. Bailey was sentenced to 360 months as a career
offender. After the FSA passed, he moved for a sentence reduction based on his
rehabilitation, lack of disciplinary history, and the unwarranted sentencing
disparities posed by leaving his 360-month career offender sentence intact. The
district court denied his motion in a one-page order, dedicating two sentences toward explaining its decision.
The Sixth Circuit found this denial to be procedurally
reasonable despite the brevity of the order. It held that the judge
appropriately considered Mr. Bailey’s post-conviction conduct and gave several of the 18
U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors “renewed consideration.” In concurrence, Judge Gilman reviewed
the “contradictory” state of the law regarding procedural requirements for FCA
motions, discerning two principles: that a court’s order will not be deemed insufficient
simply based on its length, and that looking anew at FSA cases is especially
important because the judge on an FSA motion will often be different than the judge
who conducted the initial sentencing.
Perhaps more interesting is the Court’s brief discussion of the
substantive reasonableness of the district court’s decision. Mr. Bailey’s utilized Sentencing Commission data and argued
that his sentence creates, rather than avoids, unwarranted disparity because it
is unlike most of the sentences similar offenders receive today. The Court disagreed,
stating plainly that within-guidelines sentences reduce disparities.The
concurrence also did not engage with the data, instead emphasizing the point
made in United States v. Hymes, 19 F.4th 928, 935 (6th Cir. 2021), that district
courts are not required to consider the Commission’s data.
3 comments:
Thump provides vertical grow system to help planters set up cannabis grow system.To increase the yield of cannabis cultivation.
Thump provide mobile grow rack,grow tent system,pollen trimming tray and square pots for marijuana growing.
It's frustrating to see another case of the FSA getting involved in a situation. Hopefully this issue can be resolved quickly and efficiently.
Post a Comment