Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(B)  Federal Sentence Statute.  In federal court, after United States v. Booker,[77] the United States Sentencing Guidelines are advisory, rather than mandatory.  This reopens the way for application of the general statute[78] requiring the court to consider all of the statutory factors and to find that the sentence is “sufficient but not greater than necessary” for the sentence:

                (1) to reflect the seriousness of the offense,

                (2) to promote respect for the law,

                (3) to provide just punishment for the offense,

                (4) to afford sufficient deterrence,

                (5) to protect the public from additional crimes by the defendant,

(6) to offer the defendant necessary educational and vocational training, medical care, and other correctional treatment in the most effective way, all in light of:

                (7) the nature and circumstances of the offense,

                (8) the history and characteristics of the defendant,

                (9) the types of sentence available,

(10) the desirability of avoiding unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records found guilty of similar conduct, and

                (11) the need to provide restitution to victims of the offense.

[77] United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005)(any fact other than a prior conviction which increases the maximum possible sentence must be established by a plea of guilty, a jury verdict, or an admission of the defendant).

[78] 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).