United States v. Beiermann’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 federal appellate · 1 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 25 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In Beiermann , I joined several of my brethren in finding that the guideline for possessing, receiving, transporting, shipping, and soliciting child pornography, U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2, which is the result of congressional mandates, not the Commission’s exercise of its institutional expertise and empirical analysis, is entitled to considerably less deference than other guidelines that are based on the Commission’s exercise of its expertise and analysis. Id. at 1100-06. My first specific policy objection to § 2G2.2 was that it does not reflect empirical analysis, but congressional mandates that interfere with and undermine the work of the Sentencing Commission. My second policy objection was that § 2G2.2 impermissibly and illogically skews sentences for even “average” defendants to the upper end of the statutory range, regardless of the particular defendant’s acceptance of responsibility, criminal history, specific conduct, or degree of culpability, thus blurring distinctions between least and worst offenders. I specifically noted that this objection was based on the imposition of level enhancements, some quite extreme, based on circumstances that appear in nearly every child pornography case: using the internet, amassing numerous images, which is made particularly easy by the internet; the presence of video clips counted as 75 images each; the presence of images of prepubescent minors and violence, which is broadly defined to include a prepubescent minor engaged in a sex act; and s”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Almazan

2. “(1) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant; (2) the need for the sentence imposed — (A) to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment for the offense; (B) to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct; (C) to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant; and (D) to provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most effective manner; (3) the kinds of sentences available; (4) the kinds of sentence and the sentencing range established for — (A) the applicable category of offense committed by the applicable category of defendant as set forth in the guidelines ... (5) any pertinent policy statement ... issued by the Sentencing Commission ...; (6) the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct; and (7) the need to provide restitution to any victims of the offense.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Almazan

3. “In conclusion, Mr. Jacobs [sic] is not likely to engage in future acts of predatory sexual violence. Based on this evaluator’s review of the records, interview, and on the knowledge that Mr. Jacobs will be supervised upon release, it is my opinion to a reasonable degree of professional certainty, that Mr. Jacobs currently does not pose a serious risk for predatory sexual violence. He does however need to complete a formal SOTP [Sexual Offender Treatment] program; his understanding of his offense is limited and his social skills are such that he is likely to benefit from referral to such a program.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Jacob