‘Robotic’ Sentencing Upsets Appellate Court

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is serving up a judicial throwdown warning federal judges in four states to better justify their criminal sentencing decisions or face reversals in appellate court.

The appeals court aims to stop the robotic way in which federal judges sentence criminal defendants, a trend that’s grown since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave judges more sentencing freedom, but left fewer guidelines.

Before the Booker case decision, federal judges were restricted to sentencing convicted criminals based on a mathematical grid that provided a narrow penalty range from which judges could decide on.

Now, federal judges in Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio are free to choose punishments based on numerous factors such as the crime, the criminal’s background and family history, and the odds of rehabilitation. While the math grid is still used to set up penalty range boundaries, judges only need to “consider” the sentencing guidelines when making a decision, thus omitting detailed explanations.

The appellate court used the case of a Knoxville murderer Alvin Vonner to challenge the robotic sentencing trend. The Court of Appeals chastised U.S. District Court Judge Tom Varlan for handing out a long prison term for Vonner without a detailed explanation for his decision.

Citing the short speech made by Varlan at the sentencing, the appellate court complained that there are too many cases in which federal judges appear mechanical when determining a criminal’s fate.

“This type of offhand dismissal of a defendant’s claims provides mere lip service to the district court’s responsibility to carefully weigh all the facts and provide a defendant with a well-reasoned, well-thought-out sentencing decision,” Appellate Judge Boyce F. Martin Jr. wrote in an opinion.

Because of the complaints made by the court of appeals, Vonner will receive a new sentencing hearing.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a criminal offense, contact an experienced criminal law attorney today.