The Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's decision to revoke supervised release and impose a ten-month sentence. The court rejected the appellant's argument that the district court erred by considering his breach of trust during sentencing.
Xzavion Dayshaun Ragsdale appealed a ten-month sentence imposed after the revocation of his term of supervised release. For the first time on appeal, he contended that the district court plainly erred by considering his breach of trust when imposing the revocation sentence.
The court’s reasoning
The court found that revocation in this case was mandatory under the relevant statute. Because the appellant did not concede that the issues were foreclosed by circuit precedent, the court denied the government’s motion for summary affirmance. Nevertheless, the court dispensed with further briefing and found no error in the district court’s sentencing.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces that district courts may consider breach of trust when sentencing upon revocation of supervised release, provided the revocation itself is mandatory.
