""YOUR HONOR, MAY I HAVE THAT IN WRITING?" -- LAW AND POLICY SUPPORTING VACATUR FOR VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL SENTENCING WRITTEN ORDER REQUIREMENT

Judy A. Clausen Professor, Florida Coastal School of Law

Abstract

A disturbing trend has emerged in our federal courts. District judges are ignoring the statutory mandate to identify in the written order imposing a sentence the specific reason for deviating from the range recommended by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Rather than vacating these out-of-range sentences based on the clear statutory violations, appellate courts are affirming the sentences despite the fact that the sentences are imposed in violation of law. This article proposes a solution to this problem.