Booker Remands

Today the Supreme Court issued numerous remands in light of Booker. Counsel should be aware of Seventh Circuit Local Rule 54, which reads as follows: "When the Supreme Court remands a case to this court for further proceedings, counsel for the parties shall, within 21 days after the issuance of a certified copy of the Supreme Court's judgment pursuant to its Rule 45.3, file statements of their positions as to the action which ought to be taken by this court on remand."

The obligation to file a position statement is triggered by the remand, not by a request or order from the Seventh Circuit. So counsel should not sit back and wait for an invitation to file a position paper. Also, this position paper should not take the form of a request for a briefing schedule. Rather, it is counsel's only chance to tell the Seventh Circuit why it should grant relief on remand.

Since there are so many of these cases, the Seventh Circuit might issue some guidance that modifies Rule 54 for Booker cases. But at this point Rule 54 should be consulted.