United States v. Najera, Victor

169 F. App'x 995

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Decided: March 3, 2006
• Docket: 04-3985
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

ORDER

Victor Najera pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. See 21 U.S.C. § 846. In sentencing him, Judge Matthew F. Kennelly treated the guidelines as mandatory in accordance with the law as it existed before United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). Following Booker, we ordered a limited remand, pursuant to United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471 (7th Cir.2005), so the judge could inform us whether he would have sentenced Najera differently had he known the sentencing guidelines were merely advisory.

In response to our order, Judge Kennelly stated that he would have imposed a lower sentence. We invited the parties to file position statements concerning the appropriate disposition of the case. Only Najera has responded, and he concurs with the district court that resentencing is appropriate. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Najera’s sentence is VACATED, and the case is REMANDED to the district court for resentencing.