I'll buy you a beer

Amusing post courtesy of Prof. Berman over at Sentencing Law and Policy:

A district judge who is true to his word

Long-time readers with great long-term memories may recall an entertaining opinion written in the weeks after Booker by US District Judge Richard Kopf. In US v. Wanning, No. 4:03CR3001-1 (D. Neb. Feb. 3, 2005) (discussed here), Judge Kopf rejected Judge Pratt's view that the guidelines are just to be one of many factors considered by sentencing judges after Booker. When expressing his view in Wanning, Judge Kopf added this footnote:

I like and have great respect for Judge Pratt. Nothing I say in this memorandum is intended as a personal criticism of him. I simply (but strongly) disagree with his legal reasoning on this subject. While I take the liberty of using Judge Pratt's decision as an example of a methodology that I think is incorrect, I certainly do not intend to single him out. Indeed, and to be fair, many of my colleagues (Judges Bataillon and Strom, for example) side with Judge Pratt. If I turn out to be wrong, I will buy them all a beer.

Id. at slip op. at 2 n.2 (empahsis added)

In the wake of Judge Pratt's ruling in Gall being affirmed today by the Supreme Court, I received this e-mail from Judge Kopf (which he graciously allowed me to post here):

Doug,

I wrote Bob Pratt today, with copies to Joe Bataillon and Lyle Strom, indicating that I owe them all a beer. It now occurs to me that I owe you one as well. Until I pay you, feel free to publish this mea culpa as my guarantee that beer is on the way to Columbus.

Take care.

Rich Kopf

United States District Judge