United States v. Almeida

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of bank burglary. In sentencing Defendant, the district court applied a sentencing guideline intended for cases of robbery, rather than the burglary guideline Defendant proposed. The resulting sentence was roughly twice what it would have been under the burglary guideline. Defendant appealed, challenging the constitutionality of the district court's decision to sentence him under a guideline intended for robbery. Without reaching Defendant's constitutional claim, the First Circuit Court of Appeals remanded for resentencing because, under the sentencing guidelines and the introduction to the guidelines' statutory appendix, where the guidelines specify more than one offense guideline for a particular statutory offense and no plea agreement stipulates to a more serious offense, the district court must select the most appropriate guideline based only on conduct charged in the indictment. View "United States v. Almeida" on Justia Law