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50 Ark. L. Rev. 759 (1997-1998)
Arrivals and Departures: Federal Sentencing Discretion in Koon v. United States

handle is hein.journals/arklr50 and id is 769 raw text is: Arrivals and Departures: Federal Sentencing Discretion in Koon v. United States I. INTRODUCTION In the aftermath of social outrage resulting from the video- taped beating of Rodney King,' Los Angeles police officers Sta- cey Koon and Laurence Powell were convicted of federal civil rights violations under color of law with an underlying offense of aggravated assault.2 In imposing sentences, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California attempted to evaluate the incident and fairly punish those officers responsible for the harm. However, a controversy developed over the proper sen- tencing of the defendants: When may a sentencing judge prop- erly depart from the range set by the Federal Sentencing Guide- lines (hereinafter the Guidelines)? Furthermore, once a judge has departed from the Guidelines, with how much deference should that decision be reviewed? Following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Koon v. United States,3 the federal courts have a clear and concise ex- planation of proper sentencing departures. Under Koon, a sen- tencing court may, upon a finding of victim misconduct, depart downward in sentencing, if the victim provoked the offense conduct. A court may also take into consideration the defen- dant's unusual likelihood of abuse while incarcerated and the unusual circumstance of successive prosecutions. However, certain considerations were deemed by the Court to be inappro- priate bases for departure: the defendant's collateral job loss and the defendant's low risk of recidivism. Furthermore, based on the traditional deference accorded to sentencing court decisions, 1. The actions of the police officers during the morning hours of March 3, 1991, were captured on videotape by George Holliday. United States v. Koon, 34 F.3d 1416, 1425 (9th Cir. 1994). 2. Officers Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, and Ted Briseno were tried in state court in Simi Valley, California. The charges against the officers were as- sault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force by a police officer. Except for one count against Powell, on which the jury was hung, all were acquitted. Id. 3. 116 S. Ct. 2035 (1996).

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