United States v. Bagley

Summary

The Second Circuit vacated Stefan Bagley, Jr.'s 84-month above-Guidelines sentence for firearm trafficking conspiracy, concluding the district court plainly erred by varying upward in substantial part because Bagley failed to help law enforcement recover the guns he sold—an impermissible punishment of his silence—and by resting the variance on three aggravating factors already built into his Guidelines calculation without explaining why they bore greater-than-usual weight. Applying its precedents, the panel remanded for resentencing before a different judge to preserve the appearance of justice, while disclaiming any lack of confidence in the sentencing judge. The court did not reach Bagley's substantive-reasonableness challenge or his claim that the sentencing court relied on an unproven connection to a shooting. Judge Sullivan dissented, contending the district court merely declined leniency rather than punished silence, that mentioning Guidelines-incorporated factors is not categorically improper, and that the sentence was procedurally and substantively reasonable under deferential plain-error review.