From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Nelson v. United States

Supreme Court of the United States
Jan 26, 2009
555 U.S. 350 (2009)

Summary

holding that a court must "consider what sentence is appropriate for the individual defendant in light of the statutory sentencing factors"

Summary of this case from United States v. Smith

Opinion

No. 08–5657.

2009-01-26

Lawrence W. NELSON, aka Zikee, v. UNITED STATES.


PER CURIAM.

Lawrence Nelson was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine base. See 21 U.S.C. § 846. The District Court calculated Nelson's sentencing range under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, and imposed a sentence of 360 months in prison (the bottom of the range). During sentencing, the judge explained that under Fourth Circuit precedent, “ ‘the Guidelines are considered presumptively reasonable,’ ” so that “ ‘unless there's a good reason in the [statutory sentencing] factors ..., the Guideline sentence is the reasonable sentence.’ ” Pet. for Cert. 10.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed Nelson's conviction and sentence. United States v. Nelson, 237 Fed.Appx. 819 (2007) (per curiam). It noted that within-Guidelines sentences are presumptively reasonable, and rejected Nelson's argument that the District Court's reliance on that presumption was error. Id., at 821.

Nelson filed a petition for a writ of certiorari. We granted the petition, vacated the judgment, and remanded the case to the Fourth Circuit for further consideration in light of Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 127 S.Ct. 2456, 168 L.Ed.2d 203 (2007). Nelson v. United States, 552 U.S. 1163, 128 S.Ct. 1124, 169 L.Ed.2d 946 (2008).

On remand and without further briefing, the Fourth Circuit again affirmed the sentence. 276 Fed.Appx. 331 (2008) (per curiam). The court acknowledged that under Rita, while courts of appeals “may apply a presumption of reasonableness to a district court sentence that reflects a proper application of the Sentencing Guidelines,” 551 U.S., at 347, 127 S.Ct. 2456, “the sentencing court does not enjoy the benefit of a legal presumption that the Guidelines sentence should apply,” id., at 351, 127 S.Ct. 2456. Instead, the sentencing court must first calculate the Guidelines range, and then consider what sentence is appropriate for the individual defendant in light of the statutory sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), explaining any variance from the former with reference to the latter. Nonetheless, the Fourth Circuit upheld the sentence, finding that the District Court did not treat the Guidelines as “mandatory” but rather understood that they were only advisory. 276 Fed.Appx., at 333.

Nelson has again filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, reasserting, inter alia, essentially the same argument he made before us the first time: that the District Court's statements clearly indicate that it impermissibly applied a presumption of reasonableness to his Guidelines range. The United States admits that the Fourth Circuit erred in rejecting that argument following our remand; we agree.

Our cases do not allow a sentencing court to presume that a sentence within the applicable Guidelines range is reasonable. In Rita we said as much, in fairly explicit terms: “We repeat that the presumption before us is an appellate court presumption.... [T]he sentencing court does not enjoy the benefit of a legal presumption that the Guidelines sentence should apply.” 551 U.S., at 351, 127 S.Ct. 2456. And in Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 128 S.Ct. 586, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007), we reiterated that district judges, in considering how the various statutory sentencing factors apply to an individual defendant, “may not presume that the Guidelines range is reasonable.” Id., at ––––, 128 S.Ct., at 596–597.

In this case, the Court of Appeals quoted the above language from Rita but affirmed the sentence anyway after finding that the District Judge did not treat the Guidelines as mandatory. That is true, but beside the point. The Guidelines are not only not mandatory on sentencing courts; they are also not to be presumed reasonable. We think it plain from the comments of the sentencing judge that he did apply a presumption of reasonableness to Nelson's Guidelines range. Under our recent precedents, that constitutes error.

The petition for certiorari and the motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis are granted. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

It is so ordered.

Justice BREYER, with whom Justice ALITO joins, concurring in the judgment.

The Solicitor General confessed that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit erred. Given the nature of the error, and in light of the Solicitor General's confession, I would grant the petition for certiorari, vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals, and remand for further proceedings.


Summaries of

Nelson v. United States

Supreme Court of the United States
Jan 26, 2009
555 U.S. 350 (2009)

holding that a court must "consider what sentence is appropriate for the individual defendant in light of the statutory sentencing factors"

Summary of this case from United States v. Smith

holding that "[o]ur cases do not allow a sentencing court to presume that a sentence within the applicable Guidelines range is reasonable"

Summary of this case from United States v. Bridges

holding that a judge does not have to give a sentence within the applicable guidelines range but does have to calculate that range and start the sentencing analysis from there

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Oliveras

holding that it was error for a district court to presume a within-the-Guidelines sentence was reasonable

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Osborn

holding that the Court's "cases do not allow a sentencing court to presume that a sentence within the applicable Guidelines range is reasonable"

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Salim

finding reversible error where district judge stated that “the Guidelines are considered presumptively reasonable....”

Summary of this case from United States v. Jones

finding it “beside the point” that the sentencing judge recognized the guidelines are not mandatory

Summary of this case from United States v. Pennington

reversing Fourth Circuit's judgment upholding defendant's sentence where the sentencing court stated that the Guidelines are advisory but presumptively reasonable

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Panice

reversing a district court's express presumption that a guideline sentence was reasonable

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Venta

reversing sentence where the district court concluded "unless there's a good reason in the [statutory sentencing] factors . . . the Guidelines sentence is the reasonable sentence."

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Sweeney

stressing that the judge "must first calculate the [g]uidelines range, and then consider what sentence is appropriate for the individual defendant in light of the statutory sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C. § 3553, explaining any variance from the former with reference to the latter"

Summary of this case from United States v. Flores-Gonzalez

sentencing court may not presume that within-sentence guidelines is reasonable

Summary of this case from United States v. Mobley

remanding for resentencing where district court said that the guidelines were "considered presumptively reasonable" and that "unless there's a good reason in the [statutory sentencing] factors . . . , the Guideline sentence is the reasonable sentence"

Summary of this case from United States v. Rodriguez

In Nelson, the Supreme Court concluded the district court plainly erred when it explained "the Guidelines are considered presumptively reasonable, so that unless there's a good reason in the [statutory sentencing] factors..., the Guideline sentence is the reasonable sentence."

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Espinoza Bravo

In Nelson, however, the district court specifically stated that a sentence imposed within the Guidelines range is presumptively reasonable.

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Noble

In Nelson, the sentencing judge unambiguously presumed the reasonableness of the Guidelines, explaining to the defendant that "the Guidelines are considered presumptively reasonable."

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Bookman

emphasizing that the presumption of reasonableness accorded a within-Guidelines sentence is an appellate court presumption rather than a presumption enjoyed by a sentencing court

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Cano-Martinez

outlining procedural history of the case

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Hightower

emphasizing that the presumption of reasonableness accorded a within-Guidelines sentence is an appellate court presumption rather than a presumption enjoyed by a sentencing court

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Whittington

emphasizing that the presumption of reasonableness accorded a within-Guidelines sentence is an appellate court presumption rather than a presumption enjoyed by a sentencing court

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Mann

emphasizing that the presumption of reasonableness accorded a within-Guidelines sentence is an appellate court presumption rather than a presumption enjoyed by a sentencing court

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Baker

In Nelson, the district court made the following statement during sentencing: "the Guidelines are considered presumptively reasonable," and so "unless there's a good reason in the [statutory sentencing] factors..., the Guideline sentence is the reasonable sentence."

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Alexander

reiterating that the Guidelines are not mandatory on sentencing courts and are not to be presumed reasonable

Summary of this case from Collier v. U.S.

reaffirming advisory nature of Guidelines, holding that Guidelines are not to be presumed reasonable by the sentencing court

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Weisberg

In Nelson, the Supreme Court admonished that "our cases do not allow a sentencing court to presume that a sentence within the applicable Guidelines range is reasonable."

Summary of this case from U.S. v. Tchibassa
Case details for

Nelson v. United States

Case Details

Full title:Lawrence W. NELSON, aka Zikee, v. UNITED STATES.

Court:Supreme Court of the United States

Date published: Jan 26, 2009

Citations

555 U.S. 350 (2009)
129 S. Ct. 890
172 L. Ed. 2d 719
21 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 615

Citing Cases

United States v. Gozes-Wagner

As the Supreme Court has explained, "[t]he Guidelines are not only not mandatory on sentencing courts; they…

United States v. Raby

The court "then considers] what sentence is appropriate for the individual defendant" in light of the four…