Upward Sentencing Variance

Criminal Law: Possession of Child Pornography-Upward Sentencing Variance-Constitutionality of Sentence

Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. The district court varied upward from the guidelines sentence. On appeal, defendant challenged the constitutionality of his sentence, arguing that the district court relied upon unproven allegations in his presentence investigation report. Where the record demonstrated that defendant did not sentence defendant based on contested factual [...]

Criminal Law: Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking-Upward Sentencing Variance-Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence

Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and was sentenced to 100 months’ imprisonment, following the imposition of an upward variance by the district court. Where the district court expressly found that the guidelines range failed to account for defendant’s criminal history or failure to comply with the […]