Koon v. United States
- Decided
- June 13, 1996
- Docket
- 94-1664
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 3,761 timesSuperseded by statute (verified)Possible negative treatment: superseded by statute, abrogated in part (2 of 24 verified; none is a verified overruling) · United States v. Holz
What later courts said
- holding that the Sentencing Guidelines generally do not limit the number of potential factors that could warrant a departure — United States v. Chang Guo You, United States of America v. Mi Ae Yim, AKA Mi Ae Pigman (2004)
- ruling that “abuse of discretion” was proper standard for reviewing decision to depart from applicable sentencing range — United States v. Ricardo Vasquez (2004)
- holding that a district court's departure from the Guidelines is reviewed for an abuse of discretion — United States v. Justin Tanner Petersen (1996)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.
The United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines establish ranges of criminal sentences for federal offenses and offenders. A district court must impose a sentence within the applicable Guideline range, if it finds the case to be a typical one. See 18 U. S. C. § 3553(a). District courts may depart from the Guideline range in certain circumstances, however, see ibid., and here the District Court departed downward eight levels. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the District Court’s departure rulings, and, over the published objection of nine of its judges, declined to rehear the case en banc. In this suit we explore the appropriate standards of appellate review of a district court’s decision to depart from the Guidelines..
I
Statutes cited
Cite this
Koon v. United States, 518 U.S. 81 (1996)Read the full opinion
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