Criminal Law: Violating Conditions of Supervised Release-Improper Sentencing Factor-Upward Variance

Defendant was sentenced to an above-guidelines sentence for violating the conditions of his supervised release. On appeal, defendant argued that the district court considered an improper factor at sentencing and failed to adequately explain the upward variance.

Where the district court’s “impermissible factor” was only an additional reason supporting the sentence and where the upward variance was based on defendant’s repeated violations of the conditions of his supervised release, the district court committed no reversible error in sentencing defendant.

Judgment is affirmed.

U.S. v. Parker (MLW No. 73778/Case No. 18-2787 – 3 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, per curiam) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, Moody, J.