The record indicated that he did not know how much ecstasy was involved in that shipment, and he did not profit from his association with Chieng Vang. Under these circumstances, the guidelines' weight-driven formula provided limited help in selecting an appropriate, individualized sentence under § 3553(a). See, e.g., United States v. Cocoa–Vega, No. 07–CR–323, 2009 WL 1459560, at *3 (E.D.Wis. May 26, 2009); United States v. Thomas, 595 F.Supp.2d 949, 952 n. 1 (E.D.Wis.2009); United States v. Cabrera, 567 F.Supp.2d 271, 276–77 (D.Mass.2008); United States v. Fathalla, No. 07–CR–87, 2008 WL 4501057, at *4 (E.D.Wis. Sept. 29, 2008); see also Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85, 96, 128 S.Ct. 558, 169 L.Ed.2d 481 (2007) (noting that the drug trafficking guideline was based on the statute's weight-driven scheme rather than empirical data or study).
In determining the weight to be given the guidelines' recommendation in the § 3553(a) calculus, the district court may consider whether, when it adopted the guideline, the Sentencing Commission fulfilled its "characteristic institutional role."Kimbrough, 128 S. Ct. at 563; see also United States v. Thomas, No. 08-CR-238, 2009 WL 188037, at *1-2 (E.D. Wis. Jan. 24, 2009). As Judge Bataillon recently explained: