United States v. Robert Donald Russell

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Defendant-appellant Robert D. Russell pleaded guilty to one count of bank larceny. The district court sentenced him to the minimum possible sentence within the guidelines issued pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act — four months in a community treatment facility. Russell appeals on the ground that the district court may not have recognized that it had the power to impose a sentence below the guidelines.

Both appellant and the government agree that the district court may depart from the guidelines — whether upward or downward — in appropriate cases. In the Sentencing Reform…