Review of Booker's impact and white-collar sentencing

A helpful reader sent me to this article from the ABA Journal, which discusses the Jamie Olis resentencing and ways in which Booker and other factors are leading to a reconsideration of loss calculations in federal guideline sentencing.  Here are a few snippets from a good read:

Harsh prison terms for Olis and other corporate criminals are getting a second look, as is the guidelines' usefulness in cases where the amount lost drives up sentences almost to the exclusion of other factors... [B]usiness interests are complaining that in some instances white-collar punishments don't fit the crimes. And courts are beginning to listen.

Critics say the guidelines simply aren't up to the job of arriving at reasonable sentences because the extent of the loss often dwarfs other sentencing considerations that may favor leniency.  They also argue that the government provides unrealistic loss estimates that sometimes effectively lay all blame for major corporate wrongdoing at the feet of relatively minor defendants.

Related posts with more background on the Jamie Olis case:

• Will it be a happy new year for Jamie Olis?
• Government arguing for 15+ years for Jamie Olis
• Attorneys for Jamie Olis urging a 5-year cap for resentencing
• Are the federal guidelines too tough on white-collar offenders?