Defendant appealed from his guilty plea to child pornography and from his below-guidelines sentence. On appeal, defendant challenged his sentence as substantively unreasonable. Although the record was insufficient to determine whether defendant knowingly and voluntarily entered into an appeal waiver, ...

Tagged with: appeal waiver Below-Guidelines Sentence Child Pornography

Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin. The district court sentenced defendant as a career offender to a below-guidelines sentence. On appeal, defendant challenged the imposition of a career-offender designation, arguing that his prior Iowa conviction for possession with ...

Tagged with: Below-Guidelines Sentence Career-Offender Determination Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin

Defendant appealed his below-guidelines sentence, arguing that the district court erroneously counted his prior Missouri conviction of unlawful use of a weapon as a “crime of violence.” Where the court had previously ruled that unlawful use of a weapon constituted ...

Tagged with: Below-Guidelines Sentence Counting of Prior Conviction Possession of Firearm as Felon

Defendant appealed the below-guidelines sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to a drug offense pursuant to a plea agreement containing an appeal waiver. On appeal, defendant challenged the enforceability of the appeal waiver and the substantive reasonableness of his sentence. ...

Tagged with: appeal waiver Below-Guidelines Sentence Drug Offense

Defendant appealed the below-guidelines sentence imposed after defendant pleaded guilty to a drug offense pursuant to a plea agreement containing a partial appeal waiver. Where defendant’s appellate argument challenged an essential element of the offense of conviction, defendant’s appeal fell ...

Tagged with: Below-Guidelines Sentence Drug Offense Partial Appeal Waiver

After being released from prison, defendant launched a significant methamphetamine-trafficking operation. Defendant ultimately pleaded guilty to various drug and firearm offenses. The district court sentenced defendant to a below-guidelines range sentence. On appeal, defendant challenged the substantive reasonableness of his ...

Tagged with: Below-Guidelines Sentence Distribution of Methamphetamine Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence

Defendant appealed from his below-guidelines range sentence, imposed after he pleaded guilty to illegal reentry. On appeal, defendant argued that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that his sentence was substantively unreasonable. Where clams of ineffective assistance of counsel ...

Tagged with: Below-Guidelines Sentence Illegal Reentry ineffective assistance of counsel

Defendant pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography; the district court imposed a below-guidelines sentence. On appeal, defendant argued that his sentence was substantively unreasonable, that his plea was not knowing or voluntary, that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct and ...

Tagged with: Below-Guidelines Sentence Distribution of Child Pornography Voluntariness of Guilty Plea

Defendant pleaded guilty to producing and distributing child pornography and was sentenced to 240 months imprisonment. Defendant appealed her below-guidelines sentence, challenging it as substantively unreasonable. Where the district court addressed all statutory sentencing factors and related concerns and found ...

Tagged with: Below-Guidelines Sentence Child Pornography Criminal Law Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence