United States v. Ressam

Opinion by Judge CLIFTON; Concurrence by Judge REINHARDT; Dissent by Judge SCHROEDER.

OPINION

CLIFTON, Circuit Judge:

The government appeals the sentence imposed by the district court upon Ahmed Ressam, the so-called “Millennium Bomber,” as substantively unreasonable. We review a challenge of that nature under what the Supreme Court has described as “the familiar abuse-of-discretion standard of review.” Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 46, 128 S.Ct. 586, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007).

Ressam was convicted by a jury on nine counts of criminal activity1 in connection with his plot to carry out an…