Molina-Martinez v. United States

Docket No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
14-8913	5th Cir.	Jan 12, 2016 Tr.Aud.	Apr 20, 2016	8-0	Kennedy	OT 2015

Holding: Courts reviewing use of an incorrect Federal Sentencing Guidelines range cannot apply a categorical "additional evidence" rule requiring a showing that use of the incorrect range affected a defendant's sentence in cases in which a district court applied an incorrect range but sentenced the defendant within the correct range.

Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 8-0, in an opinion by Justice Kennedy on April 20, 2016. Justice Alito filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Justice Thomas joined.

SCOTUSblog Coverage

Opinion analysis: To guideline err is human, to review is now de norm (Douglas Berman)
Argument analysis: Will defendant lose the battle but win the war in sentencing case? (Douglas Berman)
Argument preview: Justices take on “plain error” review and guideline-range mistakes (Douglas Berman)

Date	Proceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
Mar 16 2015	Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due April 17, 2015)
Apr 8 2015	Order extending time to file response to petition to and including May 18, 2015.
Apr 24 2015	Order further extending time to file response to petition to and including June 18, 2015.
Jun 10 2015	Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
Jun 11 2015	Reply of petitioner Saul Molina-Martinez filed.
Jun 25 2015	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of September 28, 2015.
Oct 1 2015	Motion to proceed in forma pauperis and petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED.
Nov 16 2015	Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed)
Nov 16 2015	Brief of petitioner Saul Molina-Martinez filed.
Nov 24 2015	SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Dec 4 2015	Record requested from U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit.
Dec 15 2015	CIRCULATED.
Dec 16 2015	Brief of respondent United States filed. (Distributed)
Jan 4 2016	Reply of petitioner Saul Molina-Martinez filed. (Distributed)
Jan 12 2016	Argued. For petitioner: Timothy Crooks, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Houston, Tex. For respondent: Scott A.C. Meisler, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C.
Jan 19 2016	Record from the U.S.D.C. Southern District of Texas is electronic and also received in hard copy. (1 Envelope)
Apr 20 2016	Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Kennedy, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., joined. Alito, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Thomas, J., joined.
May 23 2016	JUDGMENT ISSUED

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Molina-Martinez v. United States

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