By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//February 15, 2013//
United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
Criminal
Sentencing — reasonableness
Where the district court failed to discuss the defendant’s cooperation with the authorities in sentencing him, the sentence must be vacated.
“We make no prediction on the question whether this will change the result for Patrick. He was, as the government reminds us in its brief, a man who recruited disadvantaged minor girls for prostitution, who subjected them to beatings and other abuse to control them, and who killed a rival pimp by shooting him with a semi-automatic handgun. Patrick is serving time now for that crime. On the other hand, both the state authorities and the AUSA vouched for his cooperation after his arrest. It is up to the district court to decide how to weigh these competing factors, focusing solely on the materials properly in the sentencing record.”
Vacated and Remanded.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Randa, J., Wood, J.