Opinion ID: 621088
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Fast-Track Program

Text: It is not clear whether the district court considered disparities arising out of fast-track programs. Near the conclusion of the hearing it said that “[e]ven though the Court is disregarding the disparity of the Fast Track, it can’t ignore the fact that it’s there.” R., Vol. 2 at 66. We will, however, assume on appeal the accuracy of Defendant’s contention that the court refused to consider this disparity. Nevertheless, there was no error. Our recent decision in Lopez-Macias, 661 F.3d at 491, held that district courts can consider fast-track sentencing disparities but that the district court need not do so in the absence of “a minimum showing that a defendant charged with the same crime in a fast-track district would qualify for fast-track treatment,” id. at 494. We found no need to decide the extent of a defendant’s burden because the defendant in that case did not make any showing at all. See id. at 494–95. Here, too, Defendant has made no such showing. Accordingly, he is not entitled to relief. 1 (...continued) to consider such evidence in deciding whether to vary upward from the guidelines range once that range was calculated correctly. A judge could reasonably decide that to avoid “unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct,” 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6), the specifics of the offense should be considered so that the sentence would not depend upon the fortuity of the details in the language of a statute that the defendant had previously violated. -17-