United States v. Jimenez-Perez, No. 10-3757 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseDefendant pleaded guilty to illegal reentry into the United States subsequent to removal and at sentencing, defendant moved for a downward variance to compensate for an allegedly unwarranted sentencing disparity precipitated by the unavailability of "Fast Track" early disposition program in the Eastern District of Missouri, where authorities indicted him. The district court, citing a lack of "definitive" guidance from the court on this issue, denied defendant's motion, reasoning that it lacked the discretion to do so. The court held that, although the district court understandably felt bound by the court's prior rulings, its decision that it lacked discretion to vary downward from defendant's advisory Guidelines range in light of Fast Track's unavailability in the Eastern District of Missouri constituted procedural error. Accordingly, the court vacated the district court's sentence and remanded for resentencing.
Court Description: Criminal case - Sentencing. Kimbrough undermines the rationale of the court's prior decisions that disallowed variances based on the unavailability of Fast-Track sentencing in a particular judicial district; the court holds, therefore, that the absence of a Fast-Track program and the resulting difference in the guidelines range should not be categorically excluded as a sentencing consideration; as a result, while the district court understandably felt bound by the court's prior decisions, it erred in concluding that it lacked jurisdiction to vary downwards from defendant's advisory Guidelines range in light of the fact that Eastern Missouri does not offer a Fast Track program; this procedural error requires reversal and a remand for resentencing.
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