Roger Stone case generating some useful reflections on federal sentencing challenges and problems and lessons

Roger Stone is scheduled to be sentencing on Thursday and this Bloomberg piece provides a bit of the lay of the land starting this way:

Roger Stone’s sentencing on Thursday is shaping up as a test of judicial independence after President Donald Trump inserted himself in the court’s deliberations over the fate of his longtime confidant. If U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentences Stone in line with the Justice Department’s new and lower recommendation, partisans will see that as caving to Trump, former federal prosecutor Harry Sandick said. If she gives a jail term closer to the maximum, she’ll be seen as defying the pressure.

“Given how polarized the country is, some people will look to Jackson to be a hero and give him a long sentence, and others will look to her to be a hero and give him a short sentence, but she’ll likely come in somewhere in between,” Sandick said. “She doesn’t need to be a hero. She’s a federal judge.”

Jackson said Wednesday that she’ll allow Stone to remain free regardless while she considers his bid for a new trial and any other motions filed after the sentencing. Speculation that sending him straight to prison could prompt Trump to swiftly pardon him rose after the president issued a slate of high-profile clemencies Tuesday in cases often supported by conservatives.

I am a bit sad that I am not teaching my sentencing course this semester because so many of the elements around, and the challenges that surround, federal sentencing decision-making could be effectively taught through the lens of the Stone case.  Helpfully, a number of thoughtful folks have taking already penned thoughtful pieces that use the Stone case to spotlight various federal sentencing challenges and problems and lessons.  Here are some that have caught my eye that are worth reading in full (and that I quote from too briefly just to whet appetites):

By Michael Zeldin at CNN, "In Stone case, a blast from the Obama past":

Barr's approach, in this instance involving a Trump ally, was more consistent with the DOJ guidance for charging and sentencing issued by Attorney General Eric Holder under President Barack Obama -- a policy that the Sessions memorandum essentially reversed. What, you may be asking? Yes, in my opinion, in this case, Barr appears to have followed more closely DOJ's policy as it stood under Obama's attorney general, rather than under Sessions, who said at the time that he was ushering in the "Trump Era."

By Rory Fleming at Filter, "Can Roger Stone Case Spark Debate on the Dreadful US Sentencing Guidelines?"

Arguably the worst part is that federal sentencing under the Guidelines takes into account all the defendant’s “relevant conduct”—including conduct as a kid, including whether or not the conduct was charged and including charges that have resulted in acquittal. And the standard of proof in court for aggravators is ”proof” by the preponderance of the evidence—which means considered more likely than not—rather than “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

By Timothy Zerillo at Medium, "The Roger Stone Sentencing Highlights the Impact of Federal Sentencing Enhancements":

Every day, in all 94 of the District Courts throughout the United States, defendants will be sentenced and enhancements will be metered out. These enhancements, along with mandatory minimums and a desire to punish rather than rehabilitate, all serve to contribute to our culture of mass incarceration. Regardless of your opinion about Roger Stone, his situation highlights how sentences can skyrocket based on sometimes fair, sometimes ridiculously unfair, sentencing enhancements.

By Sarah Lustbader at The Appeal, "One Thing Barr Gets Right: The Sentencing Guidelines Are Indeed Too Harsh":

Given that disparities between rich and poor still run rampant in the criminal system, it is tempting for those of us in the social justice community to take the DOJ at its word in its amended sentencing memo when it urges a tailored, nuanced, and lenient outcome. The government even included in the memo a reminder that “the Supreme Court has stated that a sentencing court ‘may not presume that the Guidelines range is reasonable but must make an individualized assessment based on the facts presented.’” One civil rights attorney suggested on Twitter that federal defense lawyers file memos in all of their cases, stating that the DOJ believes that guidelines sentences are not presumptively reasonable.

By Mike Scarcella at The National Law Journal, "The Hardest Thing About Being a Judge? What Courts Say About Sentencing":

“It is just not a natural or everyday thing to do—to pass judgment on people, to send them to prison or not," one federal appeals judge once remarked.  Here's a look at how judges across courts have described the challenge of sentencing, as Roger Stone prepares to learn his fate.

Prior related posts:

• For Roger Stone, federal prosecutors advocate for within-guideline sentence of 7.3 to 9 years in prison ... which Prez Trump calls a "miscarriage of justice!" 
• DOJ now says "sentence of incarceration far less than 87 to 108 months [for Roger Stone] would be reasonable under the circumstances"  
• Would it be improper for a President to write a character letter for a defendant facing federal sentencing?
• Just some (of lots and lots of) commentary about Roger Stone(d) federal sentencing process 
• Over 1000 former DOJ employees calling for Attorney General William Barr to resign