Criminal Law :  Sentencing – Upward Variance – Prior Conviction

Where a defendant in an involuntary manslaughter case challenged his sentence arguing that the district court abused its discretion by giving significant weight to his prior DWI conviction, the court properly found that the guidelines did not fully account for the defendant’s repeated conduct within a short time period, so the upward variance is affirmed.

Judgment is affirmed.
U.S. v. Grace (MLW No. 71769/Case No.17-1572 – 4 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8^th Circuit, Shepherd, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota, Hovland, J. (Paul J. Merkens, Bismarck, North Dakota, argued for appellant) (Brandi Sasse Russell, Bismarck, North Dakota, argued for appellee).

Read the full text of this opinion. (PDF)