Federal Judiciary

United States v. De La Cruz, No. 09-4641-cr, 2010 WL 4136669 (2d Cir. Oct. 21, 2010)

De La Cruz's argued that his sentence was procedurally and substantively unreasonable.  In particular, he argued (among other things) that the district court committed procedural error in making the following statement: "The next factor is the Court has to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparity.  I would have to say a Guidelines sentence by definition really can't create unwarranted sentencing disparity."

The Second Circuit found that any error on the district court's part in making that statement was harmless, particularly in light of other statements made that indicated the district court understood its sentencing responsibilities and obligations.  Still, the Second Circuit made one observation worth noting -- that is, that "Appellant is correct insofar as he asserts that a Guidelines sentence can create an unwarranted disparity, a proposition supported by the Supreme Court's decision in Kimbrough v. United States."