Sentencing triple salchow from the Seventh Circuit

After watching the opening ceremonies, I have Olympic fever (which this great NBC Olympics site and this “official” blog will aggravate).  Consequently, everyone should prepare for (silly? bad?) Olympic phrases in some posts.

A decision yesterday from the Seventh Circuit in US v. O’Neill, No. 04-2589 (7th Cir. Feb. 10, 2006)(available here), allows me to start with my favorite skating term, the triple salchow.  In O’Neill, the Seventh Circuit panel splits three ways in reviewing a long guideline sentence in which the district court refused to give the defendant credit for his cooperation as urged by the prosecution.  The three separate opinions from the judges jump to different issues and spin around in all directions, culminating in a ruling that, I think, requires resentencing before a new judge.  I think, especially under the new scoring system, the Seventh Circuit should lose some points for poor technique in O’Neill.