Opinion ID: 797256
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Armstead's and Wilson's joint sentencing issue

Text: 26 Finally, Armstead and Wilson contend that they are entitled to remands for resentencing because their sentences were imposed prior to the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). Armstead does not contend that he objected at sentencing to the mandatory application of the Guidelines; Wilson does, but he is mistaken. He argued at sentencing that various enhancements based on facts found by the judge were unsupported by the evidence. That is not the same as an argument that increasing the sentence violated the Sixth Amendment or Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). See United States v. Garcia, 439 F.3d 363, 368-69 (7th Cir.2006); United States v. Schlifer, 403 F.3d 849, 854 (7th Cir.2005). Review therefore is for plain error only, and both defendants are entitled to a limited remand under Paladino to determine whether the district court would impose the same sentence if required to resentence under an advisory Guidelines regime. 27 Armstead and Wilson seek more — they want us to overrule Paladino. They argue that the factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) took on new significance after Booker such that they would now wish to present (and support with new evidence) a more comprehensive argument under the factors than they did at the original, pre- Booker sentencing hearing. We have already declined several invitations to abandon Paladino — see United States v. Brock, 433 F.3d 931, 938 (7th Cir.2006); United States v. Re, 419 F.3d 582, 583 (7th Cir.2005)-and we decline this one as well. It is true that the Paladino process is a limited one in which the district court is confined to the original record, along with arguments from the parties. See United States v. Bonner, 440 F.3d 414, 417 (7th Cir.2006); Paladino, 401 F.3d at 484. But the defendants are free to submit vigorous arguments under the § 3553(a) factors, and if any of those points requires new evidence, counsel can make a proffer to the district court. If the argument is promising enough that the district court is inclined to resentence, then we will remand for full resentencing and any new evidence can be introduced at the new sentencing hearing.