Opinion ID: 797991
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Constitutionality of sentences imposed on Gotti and Carbonaro

Text: 20 Gotti and Carbonaro claim the district court acted in violation of the ex post facto principle of the Due Process Clause by retroactive application of United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). 21 After the jury arrived at a verdict, the district court asked the jury to find whether the Government had proven several sentencing Guidelines factors beyond a reasonable doubt. At the time, Booker was on the Supreme Court calendar but had not yet been decided. The district court took this precaution in light of the uncertainties raised by the Supreme Court's ruling in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004). The Government noted that the necessity of the jury findings would depend on how the Court decided Booker : Once the Supreme Court renders its decision, it may be back in this Court's province to make that [sentencing] determination . . . . The jury found none of the sentencing Guidelines factors proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 22 By the time of sentencing, the Supreme Court had decided Booker, which preserved the authority of the sentencing judge to find facts associated with sentencing. In light of Booker, the district court found several factors proven by a preponderance of the evidence and applied them in calculating the applicable Guidelines offense levels. Gotti and Carbonaro claim this was a violation of ex post facto principles. The defendants' arguments are foreclosed by this court's holding in United States v. Fairclough, 439 F.3d 76 (2d Cir. 2006), that the application of Booker to a defendant who had not yet been sentenced when Booker was announced does not violate the ex post facto principle. See id. at 79 ([T]here was no ex post facto problem . . . because [defendant] had fair warning that his conduct was criminal, that enhancements or upward departures could be applied to his sentence under the Guidelines based on judicial fact-findings, and that he could be sentenced as high as the statutory maximum . . . .).