• Per curium opinion issued on January 26, 2009.
• Background: In this case, Nelson was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. The court sentenced him to 360 months in prison, calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The court reasoned that a sentence within the guidelines is presumptively reasonable.
• Holding: A sentencing court should not presume that a sentence within the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range is reasonable. This presumption should only be used by appellate courts. The sentencing guidelines are not mandatory to the sentencing court and it should not presume that they are reasonable.