09-3748 U.S. v. Snyder

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Sentencing
Guidelines

Where the sentencing court made no reference to the guideline range at all, the sentence must be vacated.
“Although the district court need not explain why a sentence differs from the Sentencing Commission’s recommendation as long as the sentence is appropriate under the § 3553(a) factors, the court must still ‘start by using the Guidelines to provide a benchmark that curtails unwarranted disparities.’ United States v. Kirkpatrick, 589 F.3d 414, 416 (7th Cir. 2009). The court ‘need not accept the Sentencing Commission’s penological framework,’ but it may not ignore the Sentencing Commission’s views embodied in the Guidelines. See United States v. Bartlett, 567 F.3d 901, 908-09 (7th Cir. 2009). A departure from the Guidelines, especially a significant one, must be carefully explained. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 46 (2007). The court here, however, made no reference to the advisory range at all.”

Vacated and Remanded.

09-3748 U.S. v. Snyder

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Lindberg, J., Williams, J.

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