charge in a different hearing held on a different date; two different state prosecutors had appeared before the sentencing court, one discussing drugs, the other discussing the robberies; and the sentencing court had entered two separate judgments. Petitioner Buford pointed out that the State had sent the four robbery cases for sentencing to the very same judge who had heard and accepted her plea of guilty to the drug charge; that the judge had heard arguments about sentencing in all five cases at the same time in a single proceeding; that the judge had issued sentences for all five crimes at the same time. The Court of Appeals found the "functional consolidation" question a close one, and wrote, "The standard of appellate review may be disparities." 201 F. 3d, at 940. It decided to review the District Court's decision "deferentially" rather than "de novo." Id., at 942. And it affirmed the trial courts sentencing. LEGAL ISSUE Should the Seventh Circuit Court consider the convictions of the robberies and drug charge sentence as consolidated for sentencing, and hence related, even if a sentencing court did not enter a formal consolidation order due to logically related and sentencing was joint. This case concerns "functional consolidation." and decide whether Buford's five 1992 Wisconsin state-court convictions were "related" to one another, and consequently counted as one single prior conviction, or whether they should count as more than one thus allowing stricter sentencing guidelines. HOLDING AND DECISION The Seventh Circuit Court believed that the Appellate Court was right to review this trial court decision deferentially rather than de novo. The need for special competence of the district court helped to make deferential review appropriate. That is to say, the District Court is in a better position than the Appellate Court to decide whether a particular set of individual circumstances demonstrates "functional consolidation." ...
