11th Circuit -- Friday April 6

"The facts of Patrick Lett's life that gave rise to this case read somewhat like a morality play."

So begins this opinion by Judge Carnes in the case of U.S. v. Lett, 06-12537, decided Friday. Although sympathetic to the district court's attempt to impose a non-guidelines sentence of time served (11 days) in light of the compelling facts of Lett's life (including his distinguished military service), the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the district court did so without authority, and remanded with instructions to impose the 5 year mandatory minimum instead. 

Also, in Rowe et al. v. Jones et al., 06-12296, the Eleventh Circuit (per curiam) parsed the distinction between "consent decree" and "private settlement agreement" for the purposes of determining whether a settlement involving the Glynn County Detention Center could be terminated under 18 U.S.C. § 3626(b).