SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Criminal Law Keyed to Weaver
United States v. Booker
Citation:
543 U.S. 220 (2005).Facts
A jury convicted Booker of violating 21 U.S.C. ยง 841(a) for possessing 92.5 grams of cocaine, with the intent to distribute at least 50 grams of the cocaine. According to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the minimum sentence Booker could receive was 10 years and the maximum was a life sentence. However, because of Booker’s criminal history and the amount of drugs determined by the jury, the Sentencing Guidelines proscribed that Booker should receive a sentence of not less than 210 months and not more than 260 months in prison. Upon additional findings at a post-trial sentencing proceeding, the district court was required by the Sentencing Guidelines to issue a sentence between 360 months and life in prison. Ultimately, the court sentenced Booker to 30 years in prison.
In a parallel case, Fanfan was convicted of violating21 U.S.C. ยง 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(B)(ii), for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams of cocaine. The maximum sentence authorized by the jury verdict was around 78 months, but at a sentencing hearing, the trial judge found additional facts that allowed for a sentence between 188 to 235 months. Ultimately, Fanfan was sentenced according to the jury’s verdict, not the additional findings at the sentencing hearing.
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.