Background
Terry Leon Blankenship was convicted by a jury in the Southern District of West Virginia of three offenses: attempting to obstruct enforcement of federal sex trafficking laws, attempting to corruptly persuade a witness to prevent testimony, and conspiring to commit these offenses. The district court imposed a one hundred forty-four month prison sentence followed by a term of supervised release for life.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion, the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal de novo, and sentencing decisions for unreasonableness. After assessing the record and appellate submissions, the court discerned no reversible error and concluded the district judge properly analyzed and disposed of all contentions on sound legal bases.
What it means going forward
The conviction and sentence stand, reinforcing the district court’s discretion in handling obstruction of justice cases and sentencing variances.