Opinion ID: 3065451
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Need to Avoid Unwarranted Sentencing

Text: Disparities 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6) requires the district court to consider whether it is avoiding “unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct[.]”10 The Government challenges the sentence because in the Government’s view it creates an unwarranted disparity in the treatment of Edwards and other federal fraud defendants. The district court considered and explained why he felt a disparity was warranted and distinguished Edwards’s case from other federal fraud cases. [12] As we explained in United States v. Ruff, 535 F.3d 999, 1003 (9th Cir. 2008), “it is the [district court’s] reasoned decision itself, not the specific reasons that are cited, that triggers our duty to defer.” Here, the district court’s decision shows that it rested on a reasoned basis and relied upon factors within its discretion including its evaluation of Edwards’s changed and reformed character and the court’s view of how deterrence could best be achieved. The district court did not abuse its discretion. 10 The Government briefly argues that the district court’s sentence takes no affirmative steps to rehabilitate Edwards. This assertion is contrary to the record, which clearly shows that the district court considered how Edwards’s needs for educational or vocational training, medical care, or correctional treatment could be satisfied in the most effective manner. The district court’s determination that Edwards’s medical care could most effectively be taken care of by Edwards, and need not fall on taxpayers, was not an abuse of discretion. UNITED STATES v. EDWARDS 2469