⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Real court arguments, crisp audio, with context.

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United States v. Ellington — 2d Cir. (Oct 8, 2026)

No. 25-2298 Argued October 8, 2026 Published October 9, 2026

The Second Circuit hears Curtis Ellington's appeal of a twenty-five-year prison sentence. The prosecution concerned enticing a minor into illegal sexual activity in Orange County, New York. Because he was required to register as a sex offender, he also faced an additional federal penalty. The enticement offense carried a ten-year minimum; the registration-related offense added ten years, to be served consecutively. That made twenty years the minimum combined prison term. The district court imposed twenty-five. The discussion turns on the parsimony clause: federal law requires a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to serve the purposes of sentencing. Procedural review examines how the judge reached and explained the sentence. Substantive review examines whether the punishment falls within the permissible range of sentencing decisions. Both involve deference to the sentencing judge, not simply choosing the prison term the appeals court would prefer.

United States v. Ellington (No. 25-2298) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, argued October 8, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — Second Circuit court original, Ellington portion of a consecutive-case recording:https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/audio/25-2298.mp3
Argument date and recording — Second Circuit listing:https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/oral_arguments.html
Appeal and counsel — public clerk-entry reproduction, last retrieved March 3, 2026:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca2/25-2298
Original charges — public indictment supplied by the U.S. Attorney:https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/file/1296651/dl?inline=
Original complaint and prosecutor identification — publicly released court document:https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/file/1296656/dl?inline=
Prior sentencing and case background — U.S. Attorney report, September 10, 2025:https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/registered-sex-offender-sentenced-25-years-prison-enticement-minor
Enticement penalty — 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b):https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title18/html/USCODE-2024-title18-partI-chap117-sec2422.htm
Additional consecutive penalty — 18 U.S.C. § 2260A:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title18/html/USCODE-2024-title18-partI-chap110-sec2260A.htm
Sentencing factors and parsimony — 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a):https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title18/html/USCODE-2024-title18-partII-chap227-subchapA-sec3553.htm
Sentencing review — Gall majority opinion, pages 49–52:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-552/pdf/USREPORTS-552-38.pdf
Second Circuit sentencing standard — Cavera en banc majority, pages 9–18:https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/OPN/05-4591-cr_opn2.pdf

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