United States v. Bramley

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

This sentencing appeal requires us to explore the intersection between the right of a sentencing judge to receive confidential advice from probation officers and the right of a convicted defendant to know the nature of the information upon which he is sentenced and to challenge its relevancy and accuracy. Concluding, as we do, that the court below did not plainly err by engaging in brief, off-the-record conversations with a probation officer during the appellant’s sentencing, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

The relevant facts and travel of the case can be succinctly summarized.…