Topic
Every decision we've filed under Sentencing Guidelines.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of safety-valve relief to a defendant convicted of drug trafficking, holding that his possession of firearms was in connection with the offense. The court found that a pattern of mixed drug and firearm sales from the same location facilitated the drug enterprise, precluding relief under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f).
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Jermaine Campbell's 144-month sentence, rejecting his claim that the district court acted unreasonably by limiting its review of sentencing comparators to the Middle District of Florida. The court held that the geographic limitation did not preclude a proper assessment of sentencing disparities or render the sentence procedurally or substantively unreasonable.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion to dismiss an illegal reentry charge, holding that a California rape conviction categorically matches the federal definition of rape as an aggravated felony. Because the state offense qualifies as an aggravated felony, the defendant could not satisfy the fundamental unfairness requirement necessary to collaterally attack his removal order.
The First Circuit vacated a defendant's sentence because the district court failed to provide a sufficiently reasoned explanation for imposing a twenty-five-month upward variance above the Sentencing Guidelines range. This procedural error prevented the appellate court from reviewing the substantive reasonableness of the sentence, necessitating a remand for resentencing with proper justification.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 288-month sentence for a defendant with a two-decade history of drug offenses, ruling that the district court acted within its discretion even if the career offender enhancement was applied in error. The court held that the sentence was substantively reasonable given the defendant's extensive criminal record and the serious nature of the conspiracy charges.
The Fourth Circuit vacated a supervised release revocation sentence because the district court misclassified a drug-testing violation as a Grade B offense instead of the correct Grade C classification. The court remanded the case for resentencing to apply the proper sentencing guidelines and address potential statutory limits on the term of supervised release.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the denial of a federal prisoner's motion for compassionate release, ruling that challenges to sentencing guideline calculations must be brought via habeas corpus rather than compassionate release proceedings. The court held that the defendant's argument effectively attacked the validity of his plea agreement and sentence, which falls outside the scope of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
The Ninth Circuit affirmed Koby Don Williams's conviction for attempted online enticement of a minor but vacated his sentence due to a procedural error in applying a sentencing enhancement. The court held that the district court failed to make the specific factual findings required to support an obstruction of justice enhancement based on the defendant's trial testimony.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of David Antoine Luster's motion for compassionate release, ruling that his claim of an unusually long sentence did not constitute an extraordinary and compelling reason for relief. The court held that the district court properly weighed the severity of Luster's bank robbery convictions and firearm offenses against the non-retroactive changes in law under the First Step Act.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 97-month prison sentence for migrant smuggling, ruling that the district court did not violate the Sixth Amendment by considering acquitted conduct to apply sentencing enhancements. The court held that under binding precedent, acquitted conduct may be used at sentencing if proven by a preponderance of the evidence.