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Giovanni Montijo-Dominguez v. United States

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, No. 18-2008 · judgment April 25, 2019

Certiorari denied · December 9, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 12% cert probability (95% interval 7%–18%)

Before the decision, about 2.8× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a petition filed soon after the judgment below.

Question presented

District courts exercise broad discretion at sentencing. They may take into consideration various factors relating to both the offense and the offender, and they may consult a wide range of information and evidence not available to the jury. Section 3553(f) of Title 18 of the U.S. Code authorizes district courts to depart downward from mandatory minimum sentences for defendants found guilty of certain drug trafficking offenses. App., infra, 28a-29a. The statute establishes five preconditions for the grant of such relief. These preconditions must be found by “the court * * * at sentencing” (ibid.) by a preponderance of the evidence. The question presented, over which there is an acknowledged conflict among the courts of appeals, is whether a district court’s findings of fact under 18 U.S.C. 3553(f) are constrained by the findings of fact implied by the jury’s verdict.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Michael B. Kimberly
McDermott Will & Emery LLP

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage

Proceedings

  1. Dec 09 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Nov 20 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/6/2019.
  3. Nov 18 2019
    Letter waiving 14-day waiting period pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed.
  4. Nov 18 2019
    Reply of petitioner Giovanni Montijo-Dominguez filed.
  5. Nov 15 2019
    Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
  6. Oct 22 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 25, 2019 to November 15, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  7. Oct 22 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including November 15, 2019.
  8. Sep 06 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including October 25, 2019.
  9. Sep 05 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 25, 2019 to October 25, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  10. Aug 26 2019
    Brief amici curiae of FAMM; the Sentencing Project filed.
  11. Aug 23 2019
    Brief amici curiae of Vermont Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, et al. filed.
  12. Aug 21 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including September 25, 2019.
  13. Aug 20 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from August 26, 2019 to September 25, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  14. Jul 23 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 26, 2019)