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He voluntarily left the drug conspiracy and moved to Arizona where he started his own business and led a crime-free life. When federal agents tracked him down, he turned himself in and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. The government argued for a sentence of 30 months in prison, which was the minimum sentence in the range recommended for the offense by the federal sentencing guidelines. Taking into account the mitigating circumstances in Gall\u0027s case, the judge instead decided to depart from the guidelines and impose a sentence of 36 months of probation. (The Supreme Court in \u003Cem\u003EU.S. v. Booker\u003C\/em\u003E had declared the sentencing guidelines to be merely advisory, but the guidelines range is still among the factors a court must consider before handing down a reasonable sentence.)\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit rejected the below-guidelines sentence as unreasonable. The Eighth Circuit held that while the guidelines are not mandatory, sentences that fall outside of the recommended sentencing range must overcome a presumption of unreasonableness. Sentences varying from the guidelines must be justified based on the circumstances of the case, and larger variances from the guidelines require correspondingly more compelling justifications. The Eighth Circuit ruled that the district court had erred by using Gall\u0027s youth as a mitigating factor, by overweighing his rehabilitation, and by underweighing the seriousness of the crime. Since the \u0022extraordinary variance\u0022 was not justified by a finding of extraordinary circumstances, the Eighth Circuit ordered a new sentence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EMay Courts of Appeals apply a presumption of unreasonableness to sentences that fall outside the range in the federal sentencing guidelines, so that district courts must justify below-guidelines sentences with a finding of extraordinary circumstances?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, reversed the appellate court and held that, under \u003Cem\u003EBooker\u003C\/em\u003E, federal courts have the authority to set any reasonable sentence as long as they explain their reasoning. The Court made clear that \u003Cem\u003EBooker\u003C\/em\u003E had removed the Guidelines from their earlier status as the primary determinate of a defendant\u0027s punishment, reaffirming the Guidelines\u0027 advisory status. The opinion was penned by Justice Stevens, with Justices David Souter and Antonin Scalia filing opinions concurring in the judgment. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito were the sole dissenters.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":35719,"name":"Michael R. Dreeben","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/michael_r_dreeben","view_count":0,"last_name":"Dreeben","roles":null,"thumbnail":null,"length_of_service":0,"identifier":"michael_r_dreeben"},"advocate_description":"on behalf of the Respondent","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_advocate\/case_advocate\/19609"},{"advocate":{"ID":30625,"name":"Jeffrey T. 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