CA1: no Booker, but CGI scripts are special skills

In the world outside Roberts-land.

US v. Prochner, No. 04-1309, is a Booker pipeline case. In finding that there was no Antonakopoulos-style plain error, the court concludes, “nothing suggests that the mandatory nature of the guidelines prevented imposition of a lesser sentence in this case.”  The court also held that, indeed, he had used a special skill under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3 to obtain and verify creditcard numbers.  The opinion contains an interesting discussion of the scripts that people use to trade stolen credit-cards.  Because this guy knows how to “rewrite CGI scrips” he had a special skill.  The court affirms (on plain error) a supervised-release condition of sex-offender treatment, because there was enough evidence in the record (some notes with references to children) to support the conclusion that he needed it.  Likewise, the court affirms the condition that he stay away from children.