Cengage Advantage Books: Fundamentals of Business Law 9th Edition by Roger LeRoy Miller

Exercise 13

Sentencing Guidelines. Paul Wilkinson worked for a company that sold fuel to the military at various bases. He paid a competitor's employee to provide him with information about bids made for contracts in which the two companies were bidding. This information allowed Wilkinson to rig his company's bids to win contracts. When the scam was uncovered, he was indicted for conspiracy to defraud the government, commit wire fraud, and steal trade secrets. He pleaded guilty to the charges under a plea arrangement. Given the nature of the offenses, the Sentencing Guidelines provided for a prison term of fifty-one to sixty-three months and no possibility of probation. Due to his cooperation, the prosecution recommended fifty-one months. Wilkinson's attorney argued for a prison term of ten to sixteen months. The judge sentenced Wilkinson to no prison term, but three years' probation and eight hundred hours of community service. The government appealed, claiming that the sentence was too light and in violation of the Sentencing Guidelines. Can the trial judge give such a sentence under the Sentencing Guidelines? Why or why not? [ United States v. Wilkinson, 590 F.3d 259 (4th Cir. 2010)]