In U.S. v. Scott, No. 05-1183 (Sept. 27, 2005), the Court affirmed the district court’s decision not to impose a sentence below the advisory Guideline range.
The Court noted that the law does not require the district court "to state on the record that it has explicitly considered each of the § 3553(a) factors or to discuss each of the § 3553(a) factors." The district court "adequately and properly considered the § 3553(a) sentencing factors," as evidenced by the fact that Scott’s counsel "argued at length that the factors in § 35539a) warranted a sentence below the Guidelines range." "In imposing a sentence at the low end of the Guidelines range, the district court stated that it had considered all the obvious things that you would normally take in consideration, particularly ‘the age of the child [victim].’ Thus, the district court explicitly considered the circumstances of the offenses. Further, the district court explicitly acknowledged that it had considered Scott’s arguments at sentencing and that it had considered the factors set forth in § 3553(a). This statement alone is sufficient in post-Booker sentences."
