On October 1, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant discretionary review in the case of Sholom Rubashkin, the owner of a Kosher meat processing plant in Potsville, Iowa who was given a harsh, 27-year sentence as a non-violent, first offender. The decision was a setback for WLF, which filed a brief in the case on the grounds that the sentencing judge largely ignored the Supreme Court’s repeated admonition not to reflexively presume reasonable any sentence within the Guideline range. WLF further argued that the functional life sentence given to Mr. Rubashkin (who is 51 years old) is incompatible with his personal history and is substantively much greater than necessary to comply with the purposes of federal sentencing set forth by Congress. WLF’s brief was drafted with the pro bono assistance of Professor Douglas Berman, the nation’s leading expert on federal sentencing law.