Background
Steven Whitesell was stopped for a traffic violation, during which an officer discovered a firearm under a pillow in his vehicle. Whitesell disclosed he was a felon, leading to an indictment for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to sixty months imprisonment, an upward variance from the recommended Guidelines range of twenty-seven to thirty-three months. The district court noted his lengthy criminal history, including three prior felonies committed before age twenty-four, but emphasized a domestic assault conviction at age thirty as a significant factor.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the challenge to the substantive reasonableness of the sentence under a highly deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. It found that the district court did not fail to consider relevant factors or give weight to improper ones. The district court properly considered the defendant’s criminal history, including aged-out convictions, and the need for public safety given his history of domestic assault and substance abuse. The court noted that the district court explicitly discounted the defendant’s youthful indiscretions while still finding the variance justified by the totality of the circumstances.
This I do consider in that there are heightened concerns with felons who possess firearms who have an assaultive background.
R. Doc. 38, at 5–6
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces that district courts have broad discretion to impose upward variances based on a defendant’s criminal history, including convictions that may not be fully captured by the Guidelines calculation, provided the court articulates a compelling justification.