Reports on 9th Circuit’s Ameline

The Ninth Circuit’s decision yesterday in Ameline (basics here, commentary here) gets traditional media coverage through this LA Times article and gets blog coverage in this Ninth Circuit Blog post.  Noting that Ameline is in line with the Fourth Circuit’s Hughes decision, the LA Times article calls it “particularly noteworthy for the 9th Circuit, generally considered the most liberal federal appeals court in the nation, to be on the same side as the 4th Circuit, widely viewed as the most conservative of the nation’s federal appellate courts.”  And Steven Kalar at the Ninth Circuit Blog sums up Ameline this way:

In general, Ameline is everything the defense could hope for in the Ninth.  It is a great case to throw at Probation, when they refuse to include 3553(a) factors in the PSR.  It will also be a great case for judges who are stuck in the guideline rut.  Finally, use Ameline with the USAO to argue that it should bargain outside of the guideline range.