Opinion ID: 201981
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Necessity of Review

Text: 20 The government next argues that we need not consider Robinson's argument about the applicability of USSG § 2A6.2(b)(1)(D), because the question is of no more than academic interest. This is because, the government says, the sentence Robinson received, which incorporated a 2-level enhancement under § 2A6.2(b)(1), would have been permissible even if the court had found that section inapplicable. The government notes that, with § 2A6.2(b)(1)(D) taken into account, the Guidelines recommended sentencing at greater than 60 months, the statutory maximum, while without § 2A6.2 in the mix, the recommended range would have been 51 to 63 months. The government is correct that a 60-month sentence was compliant with the Guidelines in either case, but if the § 2A6.2 enhancement had not been applied, the district court could have imposed a 51-month sentence without departing from the Guidelines. 21 We need not decide, however, whether the facts of this case are such that we are compelled to determine the proper meaning of the Guidelines provision at issue. We think it prudent to address the question in order to provide some guidance to the district courts on an uncommon issue of Guidelines interpretation. We therefore assume arguendo that Robinson would be entitled to relief were we to find the district court to have been in error, reach the question of the applicability of § 2A6.2(b)(1)(D) in Robinson's case, and find that the district court committed no such error.