Background
Aubrey Suzuki appealed his twenty-four-month above-guidelines sentence imposed after a second revocation of supervised release. The sentence followed a conviction for transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce. Suzuki challenged the substantive reasonableness of the sentence, arguing it was greater than necessary to satisfy the goals of Section thirty-five fifty-three of Title eighteen of the United States Code.
The court’s reasoning
The court applied the abuse of discretion standard established in Gall versus United States and United States versus Nguyen. It found nothing in the record indicating the district court failed to account for a factor that should have received significant weight or gave significant weight to an irrelevant factor. The sentence did not represent a clear error of judgment in balancing the sentencing factors.
What it means going forward
This decision reinforces the deference appellate courts give to district courts when imposing sentences for supervised release revocations, provided the court properly considers the statutory factors.
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