Cody Ray Leveke appealed his district court's decision to revoke his supervised release and sentence him to a prison term within the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The underlying dispute centered on whether Leveke violated a specific condition of his release regarding mental health treatment. While his appointed counsel challenged this finding, Leveke also filed a pro se supplement arguing that his social media posts should not have been considered during his sentencing. The district court had rejected these arguments, leading to the appeal.
The Eighth Circuit reviewed the case under a per curiam opinion, applying clear error review to the district court's factual findings and abuse of discretion review to the sentencing decision. Relying on United States v. Miller, the court affirmed that a district court may revoke supervised release if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a condition was violated. The appellate panel concluded that the district court did not clearly err in its finding that Leveke violated the mental health treatment condition. Furthermore, applying the standard from United States v. Perry, the court determined the district court did not abuse its discretion. The panel found no evidence that the lower court failed to consider a relevant factor, gave significant weight to an improper factor, or committed a clear error of judgment in weighing the appropriate factors for sentencing.
The decision affirms the prison sentence, meaning Leveke must serve the term imposed by the district court. The ruling clarifies that factual findings regarding mental health treatment violations are subject to clear error review, which is a high bar for appellants to overcome. The grant of counsel's motion to withdraw indicates that Leveke must now handle any further legal proceedings on his own.