Sixth Circuit affirms below guideline involuntary manslaughter sentence

The Sixth Circuit this morning has two notable sentencing rulings today with US v. Kathman, No. 06-5669 (6th Cir. June 20, 2007) (available here), and US v. Garner, No. 05-4215 (6th Cir. June 20, 2007) (available here).  Garner simply confirms that Booker does not allow a district court to evade application of a statutory mandatory minimum, while Kathman affirms a below-guideline sentence by stressing that “the advisory nature of the guidelines provides greater discretion to the district court” after Booker.

Kathman is the more interesting read, in part because the defendant’s crimes of conviction were “two counts of involuntary manslaughter resulting from an automobile accident in a national park that killed his two passengers.”   Among many morals to be drawn from Kathman is don’t drink and drive.