Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, v. David FISHMAN, Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2005-05-17
Citations: 131 F. App'x 397
Docket Number: No. 03-3737
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, v. David FISHMAN, Appellant.
Judges: Before ALITO and SMITH, Circuit Judges, and DUBOIS, District Judge.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 131
Pages: 397–398

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, v. David FISHMAN, Appellant.
No. 03-3737.
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1 June 16, 2004.
Decided May 17, 2005.
George S. Leone, Ricardo Solano, Jr., Caroline A. Sadlowski, Office of United States Attorney, Newark, NJ, for United States of America.
Anthony M. Supino, Newark, NJ, for David Fishman.
Before ALITO and SMITH, Circuit Judges, and DUBOIS, District Judge.
The Honorable Jan E. Dubois, Senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation.

Opinion:
OPINION OF THE COURT
SMITH, Circuit Judge.
David Fishman pled guilty on April 15, 2003 to count three of an information charging him with knowingly distributing pseudoephedrine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(f)(1). The District Court sentenced him on August 28, 2003 to a term of sixty months. Fishman appeals, challenging only his sentence. He contends that the District Court, erred by refusing to grant a downward departure under United States Sentencing Guidelines ("U.S.S.G.") § 5K2.13, 5K2.0, and 5H1.4. According to Fishman, the District Court mistakenly believed it did not have the authority to depart under these guidelines.
Fishman's sentence was imposed prior to the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Booker, — U.S.-, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). There, the Supreme Court declared that the United States Sentencing Guidelines are only advisory. Id. at 757. As a result, Fishman's sentence may have been affected by the District Court's treatment of the guidelines as mandatory. Having determined that the sentencing issues Fishman raises are best determined by the District Court in the first instance, we will vacate Fish-man's sentence and remand for resentencing in accordance with Booker.