Background
Miguel Aguasvivas Lizardo was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration in February two thousand twenty-two for money laundering. He avoided indictment but continued his illegal activity. He was sentenced to eighty-four months in prison for conspiracy to engage in money laundering.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the sentence for substantive reasonableness under an abuse-of-discretion standard. It found the district court did not fail to consider relevant factors or give weight to improper ones. The court noted that the high-end guideline sentence was necessary to promote respect for the law and deter future crime. The death of the defendant’s wife was deemed a reasonably foreseeable consequence of his money laundering and cocaine trafficking.
What it means going forward
The ruling reinforces that appellate courts will defer to district courts on sentencing decisions unless there is a clear error of judgment or failure to consider relevant factors.