US Supreme Court Docket

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Rita v. United States
No. 06-5754 Title:

Victor A. Rita v. United States

Subject:

Sentencing, Reasonableness Review, United States v. Booker, Criminal Law and Procedure

Question:

• The question presented was:
  Whether the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals appellate review for "unreasonableness" has preserved de facto mandatory Guidelines, contrary to the Court's ruling in United States v. Booker, 125 S. Ct. 738 (2005), by discouraging district courts from sentencing outside of the recommended guidelines ranges?
  
  
• Certiorari was granted limited to the following questions:
  1. Was the district court's choice of within-guidelines sentence reasonable?
  2. In making that determination, is it consistent with United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), to accord a presumption of reasonableness to within-guidelines sentences?
  3. If so, can that presumption justify a sentence imposed without an explicit analysis by the district court of the 18 U.S.C. section 3553(a) factors and any other factors that might justify a lesser sentence?

Decisions:

• U.S. Court of Appeals - 4th Circuit Unpublished Opinion Filed: March 8, 2006
• United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: November 3, 2006

Resources:

• Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket -- Coming Soon

Briefs:

    Parties

Coming Soon

Counsel of Record

For Petitioner Victor A. Rita:

Thomas N. Cochran
Assistant Federal Public Defender
Greensboro, NC

For Respondent United States:

Paul D. Clement
U.S. Solicitor General
Washington, DC

 

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