United States v. DeShon’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 federal appellate · 2 district ·

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 29 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[T]he acceptance-of-responsibility guideline [however] already takes post-offense rehabilitation efforts into account, [and] departure under § 52K.0 is warranted only if the defendant's efforts are exceptional enough to be atypical of the cases in which the acceptance-of-responsibility reduction is usually granted.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States of America v. Kelvin Newlon · United States v. Swick

2. “[Tjhere must be evidence demonstrating that a defendant has made concrete gains toward “turning his life around” before a sentencing court may properly rely on extraordinary ... rehabilitation efforts as a basis for a downward departure. Unlike the usual adjustment for acceptance of responsibility where defendants may all-too-often be tempted to feign remorse for their crimes and be rewarded for it, we view the opportunity for downward departures based on extraordinary or exceptional ... rehabilitation efforts as a chance for truly repentant defendants to earn reductions in their sentences based on a demonstrated commitment to repair and to rebuild their lives.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 233 F. Supp. 2d 1067 - United States v. Jones

3. “district court's decision to depart from the Guidelines ... will in most cases be due substantial deference, for it embodies the traditional exercise of discretion by a sentencing court,”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States of America v. Kelvin Newlon