United States v. Hammoud , 378 F.3d 426 ( 2004 )

FILED: August 2, 2004
PUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 03-4253
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
MOHAMAD YOUSSEF HAMMOUD, a/k/a Ali Albousaleh,
a/k/a Ali Abousaleh,
Defendant - Appellant,
____________________________________________
CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS; NATIONAL
COALITION TO PROTECT POLITICAL FREEDOM;
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE
LAWYERS; NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD,
Amici Supporting Appellant.
ORDER
After oral argument was heard by a panel of judges, a
majority of the judges in active service voted to hear this appeal
en banc. The en banc court heard argument on the matter on August
2, 2004.
According to the vote of a majority of the en banc court
constituted to hear this appeal, we affirm the judgment and hold
that Blakely v. Washington, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004), does not
operate to invalidate Hammoud’s sentence under the federal
Sentencing Guidelines. Therefore, district courts within the
Fourth Circuit are hereby instructed to continue sentencing
defendants in accordance with the guidelines, as was the practice
before Blakely. In the interest of judicial economy, however, and
pending a definitive ruling by the Supreme Court, we recommend that
district courts within the Fourth Circuit also announce, at the
time of sentencing, a sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(a)
(West 2000 & Supp. 2004), treating the guidelines as advisory only.
Majority and dissenting opinions will follow in due
course.
Entered at the direction of Chief Judge Wilkins, with the
concurrence of the court.
For the Court
/s/ Patricia S. Connor
Clerk