Glover v. United States

Summary

Justice Kennedy delivered the unanimous opinion holding that an increase in imprisonment resulting from an asserted Sentencing Guidelines error need not exceed a minimum threshold of significance to establish prejudice under Strickland v. Washington. The Seventh Circuit improperly required Glover to show that his alleged additional 6 to 21 months of imprisonment was sufficiently substantial. The Court reversed and remanded without deciding whether counsel performed deficiently, whether the sentencing calculation was erroneous, or whether the Government's alternative grounds for affirmance remained available or had merit. There were no separate opinions.