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Abstract: 

Appellate review of criminal procedure is a regular occurrence in our state and federal courts. Review of the appropriateness of a criminal sentence, even in the era of federal Sentencing Guidelines, is relatively rare. U.S. v. Zuk, 874 F.3d 398 (4th Cir. 2017), is one of the rare events where a unanimous appellate panel reviewed the reasonableness of the district court’s out-of-Guidelines sentence, reversed and remanded. Parenthetically, the government cannot appeal a “not guilty” verdict because to do so creates unconstitutional double jeopardy. However, a legally valid sentence may be appealed so long as there is a procedural mechanism available to do so. Federal law does permit such review and that is just what the opinion in Zuk does.

Keywords: U.S. v. Zuk

Affiliations:  1: Editor.