Fourth Circuit reverses sentence on denial of allocution right

The Fourth Circuit today in US v. Muhammad, No. 06-4516 (4th Cir. Mar. 6, 2007) (available here), reversed the outcome of a Booker resentencing because the defendant was denied his allocution rights.  Here's the start of an interesting opinion on an interesting procedural issue:

Abdul Hafeez Muhammad, convicted of wire fraud and money laundering offenses, appeals a 121-month prison sentence imposed by the district court following an earlier remand for resentencing.  We conclude that the district court plainly erred by denying Muhammad the opportunity to allocute at his resentencing hearing, and we exercise our discretion to notice this error.  We therefore vacate Muhammad's sentence and remand for resentencing.