Irizarry v. United States
United States Supreme Court
128 S.Ct. 2198 (2008)
Relevant factsFree
After Irizarry (defendant) pled guilty, the trial court rejected the presentence report's guideline recommendation as too lenient given his conduct and imposed the harsher statutory maximum sentence instead, without giving advance notice that it might deviate from the guidelines. Irizarry appealed, arguing Rule 32(h) required such notice; the court of appeals characterized the deviation as a "variance" rather than a "departure" and held no notice was required, affirming the sentence.
IssueFree
Whether Rule 32(h) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requires a sentencing court to give a defendant advance notice of a possible deviation from the federal sentencing guidelines.