Buzz about the House hearing on Booker

As detailed here, next week is going to be about brackets and Booker hearings.  And I now have more information about the likely witnesses for the House Subcommittee's oversight hearing scheduled for Thursday March 16 on "US v. Booker: One Year Later — Chaos or Status Quo?".  The four persons likely to testify will be:

• USSC Chair Judge Ricardo Hinojosa
• Criminal Law Committee Chair Judge Paul Cassell
• Attorney James Felman (who should, I think, be able to present an ABA position)
• A representative of the Department of Justice

Among the many interesting storylines will be whether DOJ will use this hearing to push for a "minimum guideline system" Booker fix (aka topless guidelines).  Recall that AG Alberto Gonzales endorsed this idea when calling for a legislative "Booker fix" in a speech this past summer (basics here, commentary here and here and here).  Relatedly, I wonder if the Sentencing Commission will make any specific legislative recommendations or will just be content to set forth data and express its eagerness to work with Congress.

Anticipating a Booker fix showdown, I can provide lots of background on the brewing Booker fix debate.  For example, there is my on-going "Dead Booker walking?" series which explores arguments that DOJ might make in support of a Booker fix:

• Dead Booker walking?: an introduction
• Dead Booker walking?: incentives to cooperate
• Dead Booker walking?: disparity in theory and practice
• Dead Booker walking?: a "drift toward lesser sentences"

Additional useful background can also be found in the recent Legal Affairs' Debate Club at this link where Professor Frank Bowman and I explored the future of federal sentencing.  And, of course, three recent issues of the Federal Sentencing Reporter linked below have Booker coverage galore:

• FSR Issue 18.2: Defense Perspectives on the Post-Booker World
• FSR Issue 17.5: Is a Booker Fix Needed?
• FSR Issue 17.4: The Booker Aftershock