Court Decision Restricts Gun Sentences
By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN
Staff Reporter of the Sun
June 7, 2007
A federal appellate court just made it more difficult for federal judges in New York to impose stricter sentences for gun-related crimes.
Recently at least one federal judge here has been citing the danger that guns pose to cities as a reason to impose lengthier prison terms on federal defendants who commit gun crimes.
That practice will stop, following a 3-0 ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday that instructs judges to not consider the level of local gun violence in handing down sentences. The court explained its decision as an effort to impose greater uniformity in federal sentencing across the country. Otherwise, the court said, it would "open the door" to unequal penalties for similar crimes in rural and urban areas.
The case involved an army veteran, Gerard Cavera, who is more than 70 years old. Cavera was convicted of illegally selling 16 guns from his home in Florida. Under the federal guidelines that judges are required to consider, Cavera was due to be sentenced to between 12 and 18 months and fined less than $30,000. A federal judge in Brooklyn, Charles Sifton, instead sentenced Cavera to two years imprisonment and fined him $60,000.
The 2nd Circuit ordered that Cavera be resentenced.
Judge Richard Cardamone wrote the decision, which was joined by judges Guido Calabresi and Rosemary Pooler.
