054468P.pdf   06/23/2008  United States  v.  Steven Spears
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  05-4468
                          and No:  06-1354
   U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Sioux City   
   [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, for the Court En Banc]
   Criminal case - sentencing. On remand from the Supreme Court for
   reconsideration in light of Kimbrough v. United States, 128 S.Ct. 558
   (2007). For the court's earlier opinion in the case see United States v.
   Spears, 469 F.3d 1166 (8th Cir. 2006) (en banc). In light of Kimbrough,
   the court adopts the determination that, under Booker, the cocaine
   Guidelines, like all other Guidelines, are advisory only; district court
   erred by categorically rejecting the ratio set out in the Guidelines, by
   substituting its own crack to cocaine ratio and by failing to conduct any
   additional analysis of the factors set out in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3553(a); case
   remanded for further proceedings. Judge Murphy, concurring. Judge
   Colloton, dissenting, joined by Wollman, Bye, Melloy and Smith.
  
054468P.pdf   12/05/2006  United States  v.  Steven Spears
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  05-4468
                          and No:  06-1354
   Northern District of Iowa   
   [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Chief Judge Loken, Lay,
   Wollman, Murphy, Bye, Melloy, Smith, Colloton, Gruender, Benton, and
   Shepherd, Circuit Judges]
   Criminal Case - conviction and sentence. Evidence was sufficient to
   support conspiracy to distribute crack and powder cocaine based on
   witness testimony and defendant's videotaped confession. Admission
   of prior 2000 felony conviction was not an abuse of discretion.
   District court's categorical grant of a downward variance using a
   20:1 powder cocaine to crack cocaine quantity ratio rather than 100:1
   ratio was error. Neither Booker nor section 3553(a) authorizes
   district court to reject 100:1 quantity ratio. District court failed
   to perform section 3553(a) analysis and conduct an individualized,
   case-specific evaluation of the facts or of the defendant. Case is
   remanded for resentencing. Judge Bye and Lay dissent.