Interesting 7th Circuit Case Regarding 5K1.1 Motions

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The Sentencing Law and Policy Blog points us to this interesting Seventh Circuit case - U.S. v. Knox (7th Cir. July 20, 2009). The case contains the following statement, "We agree with Davis that, as a general matter, a district court may consider a defendant's cooperation with the government as a basis for a reduced sentence, even if the government has not made a section 5K1.1 motion."

According to Professor Berman:
In the immediate wake of Booker, federal prosecutors often contested and/or complained if a district judge sought to reduce a [sentence] based on a defendant's cooperation absent a government 5K motion. In the wake of Gall and Kimbrough, I do not believe federal prosecutors still resist the notion that a district court's sentencing authority extends this far. Nevertheless, the fact that the Seventh Circuit expressly declares in this new ruling that a "defendant’s cooperation with the government as a basis for a reduced sentence" even absent a government motion seems noteworthy.

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