Brief filed: 06/30/2021
Documents
Osby v. United States
United States Supreme Court; Case No. 20-1693
Prior Decision
Decision below 832 Fed.Appx. 230 (4thCir. Dec. 31, 2020)
Argument(s)
Acquitted-conduct sentencing cannot be squared with the Sixth Amendment. The Sixth Amendment requires juries find all facts legally necessary to justify a defendant’s sentence. Reliance on Judge-found facts to triple Mr. Osby’s sentence violates the Sixth Amendment jury trial right. Use of acquitted conduct at sentencing guts the presumption of innocence. The reasonable doubt standard protects against wrongful punishment. Judicial factfinding using the lower preponderance standard to overrule a jury acquittal violates due process. Use of acquitted conduct at sentencing undermines the legitimacy of our criminal justice system.
Author(s)
Michael Pepson, Americans for Prosperity Foundation, Arlington, VA; Jeffrey T. Green, NACDL, Washington, DC.
