sentencing-disparities

35 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6086 Jonathan Kemuel Fargas-Reyes v. United States First Circuit 2025-11-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split sentencing-disparities sentencing-reform similar-conduct statutory-interpretation A core purpose of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 is to eliminate arbitrary sentencing disparities. As part of that reform, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6) r…
25A355 United States v. Shaheem Johnson Fourth Circuit 2025-09-26 Presumed Complete co-conspirators extraordinary-and-compelling section-3553 section-3582 sentence-reduction sentencing-disparities Whether sentencing disparities between co-conspirators can constitute 'extraordinary and compelling reasons' for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. …
24-5192 Matthew Nicholson v. Ohio Ohio 2024-07-31 Denied IFP arbitrariness constitutional-proportionality county-geography criminal-sentencing death-penalty eighth-amendment equal-protection geographic-disparity gregg-v-georgia sentencing-disparities Is Ohio's death penalty being arbitrarily applied in violation of Gregg v. Georgia, when geography dictates whether a defendant will be subject to the…
23-6068 Jermaine Deshan West v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-11-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP 5th-amendment courts-of-appeals due-process empirical-evidence equal-protection fifth-amendment methamphetamine sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines Whether the U.S. Sentencing Commission abdicated its duties under 28 U.S.C. $994(2)(1)(B) when determining the appropriate amount of imprisonment Cour…
22-7690 Rodney Raphael Fluckes v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-06-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split controlled-substances controlled-substances-act criminal-law federal-act federal-sentencing-guidelines sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether 'controlled substance[s]' in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines §4B1.2(b) are limited to those substances defined and regulated under the feder…
22-7631 Terrell McGee v. United States Seventh Circuit 2023-05-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP compassionate-release constitutional-rights criminal-history criminal-procedure due-process equal-protection judicial-discretion murder-degrees retroactivity sentencing sentencing-disparities Whether a Clromye wa daw mas/ be A Cwlaorclea and Compelling veasah for Compasslonate Celease
22-6473 Michael Dewayne Dennis v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-01-06 Denied IFP criminal-procedure due-process fourth-amendment privacy privacy-rights reasonable-expectation-of-privacy search sentencing-disparities surveillance warrantless-search whether-long-term-police-use-of-a-surveillance-camera-is-a-fourth-amendment-search
22-5313 Jesse Rondale Bailey v. United States Sixth Circuit 2022-08-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(a)(6) career-offender criminal-procedure empirical-evidence evidence-based judicial-discretion presumption sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines unwarranted-disparity within-range-sentences Whether a court may categorically refuse to consider empirical evidence showing that other judges impose sentences below the guideline range in the va…
22-5127 Edward Brown v. United States First Circuit 2022-07-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP co-conspirators double-jeopardy fifth-amendment political-beliefs political-views procedural-reasonableness resentencing sentencing sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines Did the district court violate the petitioner's rights under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment?
21-8171 Lamar Keith Garvin v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-06-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing defendant-characteristics due-process judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines sentencing-range sentencing-variance Whether the district court abused its discretion in not granting the defendant a variance sentence
21-6207 Philip Bernard Friend v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-11-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review comparable-cases comparative-sentencing criminal-procedure federal-sentencing-guidelines juvenile-offenders sentencing-disparities sentencing-reasonableness sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness substantive-review Whether an appellate court reviewing a sentence for substantive reasonableness should consider, when presented, a comparison between the instant case …
21-5671 Vicente Corona v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-09-14 Denied IFP 18-usc-3553 18-usc-3582 compassionate-release criminal-sentencing extraordinary-compelling-reasons sentencing-disparities sentencing-reduction sentencing-reform statutory-interpretation Whether 'Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons' to Reduce a Defendant's Sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) may be based on any Factor a Court …
21-5104 John G. Tomes, Jr. v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-07-14 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 18-usc-3582 compassionate-release criminal-justice criminal-procedure due-process extraordinary-circumstances judicial-discretion sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reduction sentencing-reform statutory-interpretation Whether 'Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons' to Reduce a Defendant's Sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) may be based on any Factor a Court …
20-8354 Lewis Wesley Hickman, III v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-06-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-history criminal-procedure due-process evidence-challenge felony-conviction judicial-review mandatory-minimum plea-bargaining sentencing-disparities sentencing-enhancements sentencing-guidelines Whether the sentencing enhancements were properly applied
20-7973 Zavion Nunley v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-05-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split data-availability judicial-discretion nationwide-statistics reasonableness-of-sentence sentencing-disparities sentencing-disparity sentencing-guidelines statistical-analysis unwarranted-disparities Whether statistics demonstrating that judges in the sentencing district impose sentences much more frequently than their peers in other district are r…
20-7276 Russell Lawayne Montague v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-03-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance criminal-procedure due-process protective-order sentencing-disparities sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines sentencing-review supervised-release Whether the district court ordered an unreasonably long 114-month prison sentence
20-7056 Faramarz Mehdipour v. Heather Coyle, Judge, et al. Oklahoma 2021-02-05 Denied IFP civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process evidentiary-challenges frivolous habeas-corpus malicious procedural-deficiencies sentencing-disparities standing Whether the Oklahoma Supreme Court should provide a list of the cases they claim to be frivolous or malicious, and afford the petitioner an opportunit…
20-6807 Jamal Clinton, aka Moreless v. United States Second Circuit 2021-01-08 Denied Relisted (2)IFP bostock-precedent bostock-v-clayton-county career-offender career-offender-guideline controlled-substance-offense drug-conspiracy fair-and-not-arbitrary sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation title-18-usc-3553a6 Whether sentencing courts are required to consider the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities
20-5976 Dean Reynolds v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-10-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights criminal-sentencing obstruction-of-justice procedural-unreasonableness profit-calculation remand resentencing sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines sentencing-procedure Is defendant's sentence procedurally unreasonable due to errors in sentencing guidelines calculation and enhancement?
19-8680 Adrian Zitalpopoca-Hernandez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-06-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553 circuit-split comparative-sentencing criminal-sentencing federal-sentencing federal-sentencing-guidelines judicial-discretion sentencing-disparities sentencing-disparity statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6) requires federal judges to compare a defendant's sentence to the sentences of his codefendants, the sentences of defend…
19-6746 Michael Anthony Mitchell v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-11-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review due-process equal-protection fair-hearing ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel sentencing sentencing-disparities sentencing-disparity sentencing-review unwarranted-sentence waiver-of-rights Does a waiver of direct appeal rights and collateral rights excepting claims premised on ineffective assistance of counsel violate a defendant's due-p…
19-5877 Damion D. Faulkner v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-09-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-sentencing cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process eighth-amendment judicial-discretion proportionality proportionality-review sentencing sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines sentencing-reasonableness sex-offense sex-offenses substantive-due-process is-it-substantively-unreasonable-to-impose-an-effective-sentence-of-life
19-203 David Greenberg v. United States Second Circuit 2019-08-16 Denied Response Waived appellate-review circuit-court-review cooperation-agreement criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing reasonableness reasonableness-of-sentence reasonableness-standard second-circuit sentence-disparity sentencing sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines unwarranted-disparity Did the Second Circuit err in affirming Petitioner David Greenberg's sentence without addressing the sentencing court's failure to consider the proper…
18-9635 Carlos Antonio Flores v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-06-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP adequate-deference co-defendant-sentences deference due-process just-punishment plea-agreement plea-bargaining sentencing sentencing-disparities substantive-reasonableness Whether the sentence is substantively unreasonable due to unwarranted sentencing disparities and failure to provide for just punishment and adequate d…
18-8352 Lino Hernandez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-03-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(a) 18-usc-3553a 18-usc-3582(c)(2) 3553(a)-factors 3582(c)(2)-motion amendment-782 amendment-782-788 criminal-sentencing district-court-discretion procedural-reasonableness sentence-disparity sentence-reduction sentencing-disparities sentencing-error sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the District Court committed substantive error in sentencing
18-8328 Maritza Burgueno-Gonzalez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-03-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553(a) 18-USC-3553a criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing district-court district-court-discretion federal-sentencing sentencing-considerations sentencing-disparities smuggling smuggling-scheme unwarranted-sentences Whether the district court violated 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)'s rule that a district court must consider unwarranted sentencing disparities
18-7227 Antonio Ledon Jones v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-01-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553 18-usc-3553a 18-usc-3553a6 due-process eleventh-circuit fifth-amendment judicial-review sentencing sentencing-disparities unwarranted-sentence-disparities Whether the Eleventh Circuit decided the opinion below based on inaccurate information and thereby betrayed the due process guarantees of the Fifth Am…
18-596 Marie Neba v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-11-06 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process federal-sentencing judicial-discretion judicial-review presumption-of-reasonableness proportionality rita-v-united-states sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines Should the Court overrule or refine Rita v. United States (2007) 551 U.S. 338, such that an irregular and disproportionate within-Guidelines sentence …
18-6208 Nicholas Ryan Hemsher v. United States Eighth Circuit 2018-10-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553 8th-circuit appellate-review circuit-split co-conspirators criminal-enhancement criminal-procedure sentencing-disparities sentencing-disparities-18-usc-3553-a-6 sentencing-disparity sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals erred in finding that the statutory direction to avoid unwarranted disparities among defendants does not a…
18-6206 Jason Randall Howard v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-10-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-discretion procedural-reasonableness sentencing sentencing-disparities sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines substantive-reasonableness variance-sentence Is Howard's 457% above-guideline variance sentence procedurally unreasonable because the District Court failed to consider the need to avoid unwarrant…
18-6111 Thompson Christopher Kyle Mandrell v. United States Tenth Circuit 2018-09-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-3553 18-usc-3553a6 appellate-review criminal-procedure federal-sentencing judicial-discretion sentence-disparity sentencing-disparities sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the federal sentencing court failed to properly consider and apply 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6) regarding unwarranted sentence disparities
18-5969 Carlos Alberto Fuentes-Canales v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-09-13 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP burglary burglary-offense crime-of-violence criminal-history plain-error-review sentencing-disparities sentencing-enhancement sentencing-factors sentencing-guidelines unwarranted-disparities Did the Fifth Circuit err—to the point of warranting summary reversal—when it denied Petitioner relief under the fourth prong of plain-error review ba…
18-5273 Davian Wilson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-07-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP authentication criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-sufficiency-of-evidence criminal-trial evidence-authentication federal-criminal-procedure federal-jurisdiction guilty-verdict jury-verdict native-american reasonable-jury sentencing-disparities sentencing-disparity standard-of-review sufficiency-of-evidence Whether the district court erred in finding sufficient evidence for a guilty verdict against Mr. Wilson
18-5232 Charles Lynch Pettis v. United States Eighth Circuit 2018-07-17 Denied Relisted (4)IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach circuit-split physical-force robbery-statute sentencing-disparities sentencing-enhancement state-robbery victim-resistance violent-felony Whether a state robbery offense that requires only force sufficient to overcome victim resistance categorically qualifies as a 'violent felony' under …
18-5066 Edward Vincent Ray v. California California 2018-07-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-challenge criminal-statute cruel-and-unusual-punishment due-process equal-protection gender-bias ineffective-assistance-of-counsel legal-interpretation overbreadth sentencing-disparities vagueness-doctrine Whether Petitioner's sentence of 36 years violates equal protection due to disparities in California sentences for female and male offenders for the s…