2nd Circuit Court
N.Y. Gun Harms Don’t Justify Sentence
A federal appeals court has ruled a judge improperly increased a sentence for a man convicted of selling guns to New Yorkers on the ground the crime causes greater harm in the city.
Consideration of regional and local factors undercuts one of the primary purposes of federal sentencing guidelines—to eliminate disparities, the New York City-based court said in yesterday’s opinion.
The case was unusual because both the prosecution and the defense lawyer agreed the judge was wrong, the New York Law Journal reports. The appeals court appointed amicus counsel to brief the judge’s position.
