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Federal Experts Available to Comment On Michael Vick's Sentencing

The world is watching as Michael Vick enters his guilty plea today, Monday, August 27th, in Northern Virginia Federal District Court. But, the terms of the plea and sentencing agreement do not tell the whole story of how the Federal Sentencing Guidelines should be - or will be - applied by the Federal judge in this case. Three sentencing experts with the law firm Allenbaugh Samini LLP - each formerly with the U.S. Sentencing Commission - can provide you with expert analysis of the sentencing issues in the Michael Vick case. Their bios and contact information are below.

Of particular note with respect to the Vick's plea agreement and sentencing, they can comment on the following:

Vick makes an exceedingly rare concession to an "upward departure" from the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. This concession could open the door to an even higher sentence than Vick expects.

The plea agreement is mysteriously silent on key Guidelines applications, why?

Vick has agreed to waive his right to appeal, an extremely controversial practice the constitutionality of which is suspect.

Why was Vick prosecuted federally? Will Virginia prosecute him as well?

Notwithstanding the plea agreement's proposed sentencing range of 12 - 18 months, the sentencing judge can determine that the parties have:

Not applied the Guidelines correctly in determining the applicable guideline range;

Failed to apply aggravating factors that would significantly increase the applicable range; and

Improperly recommended a reduction in the applicable level for Acceptance of Responsibility because they failed to account appropriately for significant differences that may have arisen between the defendant's account and the facts possessed by the government or provided by co-conspirators or other witnesses.

Donald A. (Andy) Purdy, Jr. is a partner in the law firm of Allenbaugh Samini LLP. He was formerly the U.S. Sentencing Commission Acting General Counsel, and the long-time Chief Deputy General Counsel, beginning his tenure at the Commission right before the Federal Sentencing Guidelines went into effect in 1987. He is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, and served as Special Counsel to the Ethics Committee of the House of Representatives, Counsel to the U.S. Senate Impeachment Trial Committee (on the Articles Against Chief Judge Walter Nixon, Jr.), Senior Staff Counsel to the House Select Committee on Assassinations, and was a Producer for the CBS News broadcast NIGHTWATCH, and Associate Producer for NBC News magazines in Washington, DC. He also served as the nation's "cyber security czar" in his capacity as Acting Director of the National Cyber Security Division and US-CERT at the Department of Homeland Security.

Frank J. Larry is Senior Sentencing Consultant to the law firm of Allenbaugh Samini LLP. He is the former Deputy Director of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's Office of Education and Sentencing Practice where he was responsible for the training and education of federal judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, and probation officers on the application of the Sentencing Guidelines. Mr. Larry is also a former United States Probation Officer for the District of Delaware, where he prepared presentence investigation reports and provided community supervision for persons on probation, parole, and supervised release.

Mark H. Allenbaugh is a managing partner of Allenbaugh Samini LLP, and is a nationally recognized expert on federal sentencing, law, policy and practice. He has served as chair of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Task Force for the D.C. Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Co-Chair of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Committee for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and as a member of the ABA's Corrections and Sentencing Committee. Prior to entering private practice, he served as a Staff Attorney for the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Mr. Allenbaugh has published numerous articles on sentencing policy and criminal justice, and is quoted frequently in the national press. He is a co-editor of Sentencing, Sanctions, and Corrections: Federal and State Law, Policy, and Practice (2d ed., Foundation Press, 2002).

For more information, you can contact these experts directly.

Mr. Purdy, based in Bethesda, MD, can be reached at (202) 486-0720 or (301) 365-5542. His email is apurdy@alsalaw.com.

Mr. Larry, based in Northern Virginia, can be reached at (703) 409-7943. His email is flarry@alsalaw.com.

Mr. Allenbaugh, based in California, can be reached at (714) 654-9474. His email is mallenbaugh@alsalaw.com.