Background
Michael R. Good appealed after the district court revoked his supervised release and sentenced him to twenty-four months in prison. Good argued the district court plainly erred because it never explicitly determined the grade of his most serious violation or calculated the applicable revocation Guidelines range.
The court’s reasoning
The court applied plain error review to the forfeited claim. It found no basis for reversal because the record showed the district court found violations were Grade C and applied the corresponding Guidelines range. Even assuming procedural error, the defendant failed to show the error was clear or obvious. Additionally, the error was harmless because the district court had previously warned Good that drinking alcohol again would result in a two-year prison sentence, which matched the imposed sentence.
What it means going forward
District courts may revoke supervised release without explicitly stating the violation grade if the record otherwise supports the finding, provided the error is not clear or obvious under plain error review.