More notable unpublished circuit Booker dispositions

In this post, I expressed surprise and concern over a few consequential “unpublished” circuit court Booker dispositions, and now I see more of the same showing up on-line. 

From the Second Circuit we get US v. Fleischer, 2005 WL 272113 (2d Cir. Feb. 03, 2005), which upholds a pre-Booker appeal waiver despite the changes brought by Booker.  The Second Circuit Blog here laments the summary disposition in Fleischer, contending the issue “deserves much fuller analysis and treatment” and suggesting “this summary order is clearly inconsistent with at least the spirit, if not the letter, of the Circuit’s decision in Crosby.”   

From the Third Circuit we get US v. Rodriguez, 2005 WL 256346 (3d Cir. Feb. 03, 2005), which in an Anders setting gives short shrift to the idea that Booker might impact the defendant’s sentence.  To affirm the defendant’s sentence, the Third Circuit has to rely on an admission by the defendant and then fails to address the potential impact of the guidelines’ new advisory status.  The court simply states, after noting the sentencing court “granted a downward Guidelines departure of 4 levels and imposed a sentence at the low end of the resulting offense level range,” that Rodriguez’ sentence “was both legal and reasonable.”