Ressam

Opinion by Judge CLIFTON; Concurrence by Judge REINHARDT; Dissent by Judge SCHROEDER.

OPINION

The government appeals the sentence imposed by the district court upon Ahmed Ressam, the so-called “Millennium Bomber,” as substantively unreasonable. We review a challenge of that nature under what the Supreme Court has described as “the familiar abuse-of-discretion standard of review.” Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 46 , 128 S.Ct. 586 , 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007).

Ressam was convicted by a jury on nine counts of criminal activity 1 in connection with his plot to carry out an attack against the United States by detonating explosives at the Los Angeles International Airport, commonly known and referred to by its airport code “LAX.” His plan was for the attack to occur on the eve of the new millennium, December 31, 1999. The advisory Sentencing Guidelines imprisonment range for Ressam’s convictions was calculated by the district court to be 65 years to life. That calculation has not been challenged by either party. The district court sentenced Ressam to a term of imprisonment of 22 years, plus five years of supervised release.

Upon our review of the record, we conclude that the…

with whom

Although I concur in Judge Clifton’s majority opinion, I write separately to explain the reasons for my hesitation in doing so.

I do not believe that this is an appropriate case in which to establish general principles governing when “substantive unreasonableness” will warrant vacating a sentence imposed by the district court. As the majority opinion states, decisions made under the standard applicable to substantive unreasonableness are “highly contextual and do not permit easy repetition in successive cases.” Majority op. at 1088 (quoting United States v. Rigas, 583 F.3d 108, 123 (2d Cir.2009)). I agree that in substantive unreasonableness cases, as in certain other categories of cases, legal principles developed in one case or set of cases are not easily extrapolated and applied to other cases. The more specific we try to be as to how we must go about determining whether a sentence is substantively unreasonable, the less likely that the rules we adopt will bring us to a *1098 just and fair result in the wide range of cases that will come before us. Here, this principle is at its apex.

No case could be more atypical and less suited for the development of general…

joined by

I respectfully dissent. The majority holds substantively unreasonable a 22-year sentence that is 13 years less than the government’s request in its sentencing memorandum, and only 8 years less than what the government conceded at oral argument it would have accepted without appealing to this court. In light of the district court’s sentencing discretion, I would exercise a more appropriate level of deference, and affirm.

The district court’s explanation of this sentence shows that the court followed this circuit’s law. See United States v. Maier, 646 F.3d 1148, 1156 (9th Cir.2011) (citing United States v. Hinkson, 585 F.3d 1247, 1261-62 (9th Cir.2009) (en banc)). The court noted it could not presume that the advisory Guidelines range is reasonable. See United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 991 (9th Cir.2008) (en banc). The court said that it had considered the 18 U.S.C. § 3553 (a) factors, in addition to the Guidelines, in arriving at the sentence it imposed. It went through each of those factors, explaining the weight it assigned to each, and why. The district court had lived with the case for nine years and its explanation reflects its familiarity with the history of…

Helen J. Brunner (argued), Assistant United States Attorney, Mark N. Bennett, First Assistant United States Attorney, Seattle, WA, for the plaintiff-appellant.

Thomas W. Hillier, II, Federal Public Defender, Seattle, WA, for the defendant-appellee.

Before: ALEX KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, and MARY M. SCHROEDER, STEPHEN REINHARDT, SUSAN P. GRABER, M. MARGARET McKEOWN, KIM McLANE WARDLAW, RICHARD A. PAEZ, MARSHA S. BERZON, RICHARD R. CLIFTON, JAY S. BYBEE, and MARY H. MURGUIA, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge CLIFTON; Concurrence by Judge REINHARDT; Dissent by Judge SCHROEDER.

CLIFTON, Circuit Judge:

The government appeals the sentence imposed by the district court upon Ahmed Ressam, the so-called "Millennium Bomber," as substantively unreasonable. We review a challenge of that nature under what the Supreme Court has described as "the familiar abuse-of-discretion standard of review." Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 46 , 128 S.Ct. 586 , 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007).

Ressam was convicted by a jury on nine counts of criminal activity [1] in connection with his plot to carry out an attack against the United States by detonating explosives at the Los Angeles International Airport,…