Double Time For Defendant Who Laughed During Sentencing

A panel of Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges has upheld the two-year sentence handed down on felon Ramon Ochoa, which was doubled after Ochoa laughed during the original sentencing of one year and one day. In appeal, Ochoa said he had laughed from surprise. The appeals court panel ruled 2-1 that judges may change their minds on sentencing before banging the gavel. “The rule Ochoa advocates would strip district courts of flexibility to respond to evolving circumstances during sentencing hearings,” wrote Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson.