Defendant pleaded guilty to a drug offense pursuant to a plea agreement that contained an appeal waiver. Defendant appealed his above-guidelines sentence as substantively unreasonable. Where defendant’s appeal fell within the scope of his appeal waiver, the court dismissed the ...

Tagged with: Above-Guidelines Sentence appeal waiver Drug Offense

Defendant pleaded guilty to a drug offense pursuant to a plea agreement that contained an appeal waiver. On appeal, defendant challenged her sentence. Where defendant’s appellate argument fell within the scope of her appeal waiver, the court dismissed the appeal. ...

Tagged with: appeal waiver Drug Offense plea agreement

Defendant pleaded guilty to a drug offense and the district court sentenced him to a prison term below the calculated Guidelines range. On appeal, defendant challenged the substantive reasonableness of sentence. Where the record did not support a finding that ...

Tagged with: Below-Guidelines-Range Sentence Drug Offense Substantive Reasonableness

  Defendant appealed his within-guidelines sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to a drug offense, arguing that the district court imposed a substantively unreasonable sentence. Where the district court adequately considered all statutory sentencing factors, it did not impose a ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Drug Offense Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence Within-Guidelines Sentence

  Defendant appealed the sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to drug offenses. Defendant challenged the substantive reasonableness of his sentence. Where the district court adequately considered the statutory sentencing factors and imposed a statutory-minimum sentence, it did not impose ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Drug Offense Statutory-Minimum Sentence Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence

Defendant appealed his judgment of sentence entered after he pleaded guilty to a drug offense. The district court had granted the government’s motion for an upward variance and denied defendant’s request for a downward departure based on his mental health ...

Tagged with: Criminal Law Denial of Downward Departure Drug Offense Upward Sentencing Departure

U.S. v. Johnson (MLW No. 70144/Case No. 16-1977 – 4 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Benton, J.)

Tagged with: Criminal Law Drug Offense Felon With Firearm sentencing