No. 24-5836

Steven Hadley Hassan v. United States

Lower Court: Fourth Circuit
Docketed: 2024-10-28
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: congressional-authority due-process fifth-amendment sentencing-guidelines separation-of-powers statutory-interpretation
Key Terms:
FifthAmendment HabeasCorpus Securities
Latest Conference: 2024-11-22
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does the U.S. Constitution authorize Congress to transfer lawmaking authority to the U.S. Sentencing Commission?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

Questions Presented to the Court Te ; : 1) The U.S. Constitution, through Article One, grants Congress the authority to make or change federal laws. This includes the creation of criminal statutes and fixing their associated penalties: Q1) Does the U.S. Constitution authorize or allow Congress to transfer this lawmaking/changing authority, in any way, to the U.S. Sentencing Commission? 2) Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual Special Instruction §2G2.1(d)(1) directs Prosecutors/Courts to utilize a Unit of Prosecution which differs from the Unit of Prosecution found in the text of 18 U.S.C. §2251(c). This change effectively allows the double jeopardy clause to be circumvented: . ; : Q1) By what authority is the Sentencing Commission allowed to unilaterally resolve te, the ambiguity in a congressional statute like 18 U.S.C. §2251(c)? : . os 7 _ Q2) If the Sentencing Commission has somehow been given the power to . . i ; sya unilaterally interpret congressional intent, then make whatever statutory changes : ae they desire, how are the basic tenets of democracy, such as open debate among the peoples representatives, upheld? Q3) One function of Special Instruction §2G2.1(d)(1) is to provide a path for prosecutors to bypass the protections of the 5 Amendment. Does this action in of itself violate the due process clauses of the 5‘ and 6» Amendments? i . : List of

Docket Entries

2024-11-25
Petition DENIED.
2024-11-07
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/22/2024.
2024-11-04
Waiver of United States of right to respond submitted.
2024-11-04
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2024-10-16
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due November 27, 2024)

Attorneys

Steven Hadley Hassan
Steven Hadley Hassan — Petitioner
United States
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent