Opinion ID: 202624
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Pre-Booker Sentence

Text: 24 Shoup was sentenced prior to the decision in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), which held that the federal Sentencing Guidelines are unconstitutional to the extent mandatory, as distinguished from advisory. As Shoup properly preserved his Booker challenge in the district court, the government must bear the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that the district court would not have imposed a lesser sentence if it had acted under an advisory—rather than mandatory—Guidelines regime. See United States v. Fornia-Castillo, 408 F.3d 52, 73 (1st Cir.2005). The government acknowledges that it cannot meet this burden given that the district court sentenced Shoup at the low end of the applicable guidelines range, and expressly stated that it would impose the statutory minimum 180-month sentence if the guidelines were invalidated by Booker. Accordingly, we vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing in light of Booker. 5 25 The judgment of conviction is affirmed. The sentence is vacated, and the case is remanded for resentencing in accordance with the opinion herein.