Ronell Watson v. United States
DueProcess
Is premeditation an element of attempted murder under the federal system?
Questions Presented I. Is premeditation an element of attempted murder under the federal system, such that the Government violated Petitioner’s Fifth and Sixth Amendments rights by not instructing the jury to find premeditation beyond a reasonable doubt? II. Did the district court violate Petitioner’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights by sentencing him above the statutory maximum? III. Did the district court violate Petitioner’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights by finding premeditation by a preponderance of the evidence and raising Petitioner’s base offense level by six levels, or did the remedial holding in Booker entirely moot the constitutional holding? IV. Did the district court violate Petitioner’s constitutional rights and procedurally err by exceeding the statutory maximum? Vv. In sentencing Petitioner, a first-time offender, to 382 months, the district court praised the victim’s “honor,” “heroism,” and “courage under fire”—virtues unknown to Petitioner and irrelevant to his legal culpability—then said: “Agent Harper has our back, and this Court promises to always have his.” Do those errors necessitate summary vacatur and resentencing? i