Noticing an upward variance pattern

This article at Legal Times, entitled “Hard Hits: Departures From Sentencing Guidelines Seem Immune From Scrutiny When National Security Invoked,” spotlights that Booker has proved to be more of a curse than a blessing for certain sets of defendants.  Here is how the piece begins:

Despite new freedom in sentencing criminals, federal district courts are mostly staying within the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines — with one significant exception.  That exception is national security.

For defendants in these cases, the news is grim: Upward departures based on national-security concerns have not only been upheld in every case but have also resulted in sentences that exceed the guidelines by as much as 333 percent.  And these extremely high sentences often have been imposed and affirmed without compelling reasons for such strong punishments.  This trend is troubling, and it deserves closer scrutiny.