Whether the 5th and 6th Amendments require an evidentiary hearing on disputed sentencing factors and an adequate explanation for an enhanced sentence under 18 U.S.C. 3553(a)

QUESTION(S) PRESENTED: UL The 5th & 6th amendments to the Constitution guarantee fairness in criminal proceedings to the accused. When the verification of a sentence enhancement factor, here the loss amount, is disputed during sentencing, those fairness procedures entitled the petitioner to an evidentiary hearing where the government would have been required to corroborate, its allegations with actual evidence, as opposed to refuted naked allegations. Moreover, 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) required that the district court adequately explain the reasons for the enhanced sentence. 2