United States v. Ressam (9th Cir. Feb. 2, 2010)

* United States v. Ressam (9th Cir. Feb. 2, 2010) (vacating for reconsideration of sentence as requested by government)

A 9th Circuit panel has vacated the 22-year sentence given to Ahmed Ressam (the man convicted of plotting to set off a bomb at LAX at the millennium), on the ground that the district judge failed to consider certain arguments advanced by the government before imposing a sentence substantially below the Guidelines range.  The panel remanded for resentencing before a different judge.

Opinion here: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/02/02/09-30000.pdf

By Robert M. Chesney

Robert M. Chesney is Charles I. Francis Professor in Law at UT-Austin School of Law. Chesney is a national security law specialist, with a particular interest in problems associated with terrorism. Professor Chesney recently served in the Justice Department in connection with the Detainee Policy Task Force created by Executive Order 13493. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security, a senior editor for the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, an associate member of the Intelligence Science Board, a non-resident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Chesney has published extensively on topics ranging from detention and prosecution in the counterterrorism context to the states secrets privilege. He served previously as chair of the Section on National Security Law of the Association of American Law Schools and as editor of the National Security Law Report (published by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security). His upcoming projects include two books under contract with Oxford University Press, one concerning the evolution of detention law and policy and the other examining the judicial role in national security affairs.

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