David Lowell Rewak v. United States

Petitioner David Lowell Rewak brought this petition for a writ of error coram nobis, alleging that he had been improperly sentenced pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3651 at a time when he was eligible for sentencing as a youth offender under 18 U.S.C. § 5010 . Because his sentence had been completed in 1965, petitioner invoked the jurisdiction of the district court under the All Writs Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1651 . The district court denied the writ and petitioner brought this appeal. We reverse and remand for resentencing.

In 1963, petitioner was convicted of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2312 . He was given an eighteen months suspended sentence and placed on probation for two years. Although the sentencing judge was aware of petitioner’s age (19 years old), no mention was made of the possibility of sentencing him under the provisions of the Youth Corrections Act, 18 U.S.C. § 5010 . The Supreme Court recently held that a sentencing judge must make an explicit “no benefit” finding that an eligible defendant would not benefit from sentencing under the Act before imposing an alternative sentence under a different statute. Dorszynski v.…