United States v. Blackie

I agree with the majority’s disposition of this appeal and with its reasoning in addressing each of the questions raised, save one: Did the district court fail to satisfy § 3553(c)(2)’s requirement that it state in open court and in the written judgment the reasons for selecting a sentence one month above the 41-month advisory guidelines range? I agree with the majority that the district court failed to satisfy this requirement, but I see no reason to decide whether that shortcoming amounts to plain error.

The government never asked us to apply plain-error review to this claim, which by itself…