Circuit split · criminal sentencing
Whether U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1 alone authorizes a district court to impose a sentence below a statutory mandatory minimum for substantial assistance, or whether a government motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) is required.
1 federal appellate case on this question, each acknowledging the disagreement in its own words.
- United States v. Chavarria-Herrara15 F3D 1033
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals · March 9, 1994
“We need not in this case address this conflict among the circuits, because in this case the authority to reduce the sentence below the mandatory minimum derives from Rule 35(b) and need not rely upon § 5kl.” — Split of authority
Empirical analysis of this case →
The provision at issue
18 U.S.C. § 3553 — Imposition of a sentence
“(a) Factors To Be Considered in Imposing a Sentence.—The court shall impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection. The court, in determining the particular sentence to be imposed, shall consider— (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 …”Read the full section →
The other side of the split
Decisions the acknowledging court(s) named as the opposing or joined side, quoted in the acknowledging opinion's own words.
- On the other side · 8th Cir.United States v. Rodriguez-Morales958 F.2d 1441
“Rodriguez-Morales, 958 F.2d 1441 , 1444 (8th Cir.1992), that a district court may not lower a sentence below the mandatory minimum where the government makes a motion for a substantial assistance reduction, but specifies that the motion is made under U.S.S.G.” — United States v. Chavarria-Herrara, acknowledging the split
- Joined by · 5th Cir.United States v. Beckett996 F.2d 70
- Joined by · 2nd Cir.United States v. Cheng Ah-Kai951 F.2d 490
- Joined by · 9th Cir.United States v. Keene933 F.2d 711
What the split turns on
- Statutes:
- 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e)
Cases are grouped by the legal question they announce a split on, classified from the court's own acknowledgment sentence. Verified acknowledgments only. Counter-side decisions are extracted from the acknowledging opinions' own text and linked only when the citation resolves in this corpus. See all circuit splits.