PRIOR HISTORY:  United States v. Hammoud, 381 F.3d 316, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 19036 (4th Cir. N.C., 2004)

 

COUNSEL:  For UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee: Gretchen C. F. Shappert, Robert James Conrad, Jr., Douglas Scott Broyles, OFFICE OF THE U. S. ATTORNEY, Charlotte, NC; Demetra Daniel Lambros, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, DC; John F. DePue, Anthony Steven Murry, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, DC; Kenneth Davis Bell, MAYER, BROWN, ROWE & MAW LLP, Chicago, IL; Martha Rubio, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, DC.

For MOHAMAD YOUSSEF HAMMOUD, aka Ali Albousaleh, aka Ali Abousaleh, Defendant-Appellant: James Patrick McLoughlin, Jr., James William Haldin, MOORE & VAN ALLEN, Charlotte, NC; Stanley Lewis Cohen, New York, NY.

For CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, Amicus Supporting , Appellant: Nancy Chang, Shayana Devendra Kadidal, CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, New York, NY; David Douglas Cole, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER, Washington, DC.

For NATIONAL COALITION TO PROTECT POLITICAL FREEDOM, Amicus Supporting, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS, Amicus Supporting , NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD, Amicus Supporting , Appellant: Nancy Chang, Shayana Devendra Kadidal, CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, New York, NY; David Douglas Cole, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER, Washington, DC.

 

 

OPINION:   [*1] 

 

ORDER

 

This court, sitting en banc, previously affirmed Mohamad Youssef Hammoud’s convictions and sentence. See United States v. Hammoud, 381 F.3d 316 (4th Cir. 2004) (en banc). Subsequently, the Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated our decision, and remanded for reconsideration in light of United States v. Booker, [543 U.S. 220,] 160 L. Ed. 2d 621, 125 S. Ct. 738 (2005). See United States v. Hammoud, [543 U.S. 1097,] 160 L. Ed. 2d 997, 125 S. Ct. 1051 (2005).

 

Because the order of the Supreme Court does not affect our resolution of Hammoud’s challenges to his convictions and the calculation of his guideline range, we reinstate those portions of our prior opinion. See Hammoud, 381 F.3d at 325-44, 354-57. However, the sentence imposed on Hammoud exceeded the maximum sentence authorized by the jury verdict alone, see United States v. Hughes, 401 F.3d 540, 2005 WL 628224, at *5 (4th Cir. 2005), and the Government cannot prove that this error, which Hammoud preserved in the district court, did not affect Hammoud’s substantial rights, see Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(a). We therefore  [*2]  vacate Hammoud’s sentence and remand for resentencing under the advisory guidelines regime set forth in Booker, 125 S. Ct. at 756-57, 764-65.

 

Entered at the direction of Chief Judge Wilkins with the concurrences of Judges Widener, Wilkinson, Niemeyer, Williams, Michael, Motz, Traxler, King, Gregory, Shedd, and Duncan.