En Banc Questions in Carty And Zavala

Big news from the Ninth: the court is rehearing en banc the decisions in Carty and Zavala. The six questions (available here) have numerous subparts, giving the court an opportunity for a complete review of the standards for reviewing sentences in the post-Booker era. The Ninth Circuit Federal Defenders will likely be filing an amicus brief, as will others interested in this area of the law. As blogged here and here, Carty and Zavala got it right in rejecting a presumption of reasonableness and recognizing full reasonableness review, as contemplated in the remedial Booker opinion.

Steve Sady, Chief Deputy Federal Public Defender, Portland, Oregon