Properly derived alternative sentence renders non-constitutional Booker error harmless

SENTENCING United States v. Serrano-Dominguez, No. 04-1398, ___ F.3d ___ (10th Cir. May 4, 2005)(Colorado). Appeal of sentence for illegally reentering United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. HELD: Where district court imposed sentence at bottom of then-mandatory sentencing guidelines range but also provided alternative sentence of equal length anticipating possible shift to discretionary application of sentencing guidelines post-Booker, any Booker error that occurred through mandatory application of guidelines was harmless because alternative sentence eliminated any doubt that defendant would receive different sentence on remand if judge’s discretion was untethered from mandatory application of guidelines. Read the opinion here.