State v. Perez-Diaz

I concur fully,' but write separately' to address more broadly one of the points made in the majority opinion.

The trial court imposed a downward departure sentence, concluding that the departure was necessary to achieve “sentencing parity” and to correct what the court perceived to be a “gross disparity” be-twéen Perez-Diaz’s guideline sentence and the negotiated sentence imposed on the co-defendant. I conclude that, given the circumstances of the instant case, this is not a permissible basis for a downward departure.

As the majority opinion notes, a trial court does have the discretion, under…