Fernandez v. United States · ¶92

Of course, this is not to say that every assertion of innocence will necessarily qualify as an “extraordinary” or “compelling” basis for a sentence reduction. For instance, a claim of innocence that simply rehashes the evidence presented at trial is unlikely to suffce. The concern that Fernandez is making such an unjustified innocence claim seems to be what drives much of the majority's analysis today. See ante, at 429–430 (“No court—not even the District Court that reduced his sentence—concluded that Fernandez was actually innocent. His evidentiary challenges were repeatedly rejected”); see also ante, at 432 (Sotomayor, J., concurring in judgment) (“Petitioner Joe Fernandez has been litigating the issues at the core of his § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion since his trial”). But the Court overcorrects for this concern and, in the process, adopts an atextual rule that categorically forbids any…

preliminary print (page proof)
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.