FEDERAL CRIMINAL - U.S. District Court, M.D. Fla., Sustains the Firm's Objection to US Probation Office's Sentencing Guidelines' Calculation

At The Bonderud Law Firm, we represent criminal defendants in state and federal court. The Bonderud Law Firm recently concluded its representation of a client who was charged with a very serious felonies. The case had been investigated by the FBI and was prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville, Florida. As part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Government, our client pled guilty to a single felony charge. As is typical, the U.S. Probation Office then interviewed our client and issued its pre-sentence investigation report (PSIR), in which the Probation Office proposed our client’s applicable federal sentencing guidelines range.

Upon review of the PSIR, we objected and asserted that the U.S. Probation Office had proposed a significant sentencing enhancement that we believed was inappropriate in light of our client’s plea agreement. In response to our objection, the US Attorney’s Office sided with the Probation Office and sought the imposition of an enhanced sentence for our client. Last week, at the sentencing hearing, the U.S. District Court in Jacksonville rejected the Government’s arguments, sustained our objection, and accordingly modified and reduced the federal sentencing guidelines range that the U.S. Probation Office had calculated. The Court then heard and considered mitigation and argument about what sentence would be appropriate for our client, and the Court sentenced our client to the middle of the federal sentencing guidelines range, as the Court had re-calculated it.

If you are facing criminal charges in federal court, contact our office for a consultation without delay. 904-438-8082.