In United States v. Steiger, No. 22-10742 (Nov. 27, 2023), the Court sua sponte ordered that the appeal be reheard en banc.
The panel, in vacating Mr. Steiger's sentence, found itself bound by United States v. Parks, 823 F.3d 990 (11th Cir. 2016). Chief Judge William Pryor concurred, but urged the Court to rehear the case en banc to reconsider Parks, which requires a per se rule of reversal for § 3553(c)(2) errors even when a defendant fails to object to the explanation of his sentence before the district court. In his view, § 3553(c) challenges should be treated like all other procedural sentencing challenges, which are reviewed for plain error when a defendant fails to object in the district court.
