Topic
Every decision we've filed under Sentencing Guidelines.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court's revocation of supervised release and imposition of an eighteen-month prison term. The court held that the district court did not impermissibly rely on retributive factors when sentencing the defendant for violating her supervised release.
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 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 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 a 78-month sentence for child pornography possession, ruling that a sentencing error regarding video image counts did not affect the defendant's substantial rights. Although the district court incorrectly applied a rule counting each video as 75 images, the correct legal standard would likely have resulted in an even higher image count.
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.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Charles Long's 78-month sentence for child pornography possession, ruling that while the district court erred in applying a 75-image-per-video rule, the mistake did not affect Long's substantial rights. The court held that applying the correct one-frame-one-image standard would likely result in a significantly higher image count, meaning no reasonable probability exists that a lower sentence would have been imposed.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Charles Long's sentence for possession of child pornography, ruling that while the district court erred by relying on outdated commentary to count videos, Long failed to prove the error affected his substantial rights. The court held that applying the correct one-frame-one-image rule would likely increase, rather than decrease, the total image count, meaning no prejudice existed.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Edwin Rivera's 48-month sentence for theft of government property, ruling that the district court properly considered his lack of remorse and the seriousness of the offense. The court held that the district court did not commit procedural or substantive errors in its sentencing analysis.