Fast-track fast talk from the Fifth Circuit

The Fifth Circuit this week discussed fast-track programs and their impact on non-fast-track defendants at some length in US v. Rodriguez, No. 07-10535 (5th Cir. Apr. 1, 2008) (available here).  Here is one notable passage from the opinion:

Rodriguez asserts that Rita v. United States, 127 S. Ct. 2456 (2007) and Kimbrough v. United States, 128 S.Ct 558 (2007), undermine the line of cases that concluded that Booker, which made the Guidelines purely advisory, did not give sentencing courts the discretion to impose a non-Guidelines sentence based on disagreement with Congressional and Sentencing Commission policies such as allowing some districts to have fast-track programs while others do not.  For the reasons set forth in United States v. Gomez-Herrera, No. 07-10153, decided this day, we reject this argument. Rita and Kimbrough allow a district court to impose a non-Guideline sentence based on disagreement with Guideline policy that results in a sentence greater [and presumably less] than necessary to achieve the sentencing goals of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).  Any sentencing disparity resulting from the implementation of fast track programs in some but not all sentencing jurisdictions results from Congressional, not Guideline, policy. Accordingly, the sentencing disparity is not “unwarranted” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6).

Aside from the merits of the Rodriguez ruling, I am wondering if the Fifth Circuit was getting into the April Fool's spirit here because I now cannot seem to find the referenced decision in United States v. Gomez-Herrera, No. 07-10153.  The reference above suggests that fast-track issues are discussion more fully in this other Fifth Circuit ruling, but as of this writing I cannot find the ruling anywhere on the Fifth Circuit website.  Perhaps fast-track gremlins made fast work of the decision.