Eleventh Circuit affirms significant upward variance

This morning in US v. Eldick, No. 05-13006 (11th Cir. Mar. 22, 2006) (available here), the Eleventh Circuit has affirmed a 15-year sentence, the statutory maximum based on the charges of conviction, up from an applicable guideline range of roughly 7 to 9 years.  Based on the facts of the case, the Eldick court’s conclusions about reasonableness seem reasonable.  However, the case provides another example, documented here and here earlier this month, of the circuit courts’ tendency to find nearly all above-guidelines sentences reasonable, even though many below-guideline sentences are being reversed as unreasonable.