Background
Steven Whitesell was stopped for a traffic violation and found with a firearm under a passenger seat pillow. He disclosed he was a felon and pleaded guilty to unlawful possession. The district court sentenced him to sixty months imprisonment, an upward variance from the recommended Guidelines range of twenty-seven to thirty-three months.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the substantive reasonableness of the sentence under a highly deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. It found the district court properly considered the defendant’s lengthy violent criminal record, including convictions occurring before age twenty-four and a domestic assault conviction at age thirty. The court determined the district court appropriately weighed the need for just punishment and public protection against the defendant’s youthful indiscretions.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces that district courts may impose upward variances when a defendant’s criminal history is underrepresented in the Guidelines calculation, provided the court articulates a compelling justification.