United States v. Rivera-Hernandez

by
The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court in this criminal case, holding that the sentence imposed upon Defendant in connection with his plea of guilty to transporting child pornography was without error.Pursuant to the parties’ plea agreement, the government recommended a sentence at the lower end of the applicable range at sentencing. The district court calculated the guideline sentence at a new range of 121-151 months and then sentenced Defendant to 121 months’ imprisonment, the bottom of the range but higher than any sentence support by both parties. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) even if the district court did not explicate on the record its consideration of every argument Defendant presented in his sentencing memorandum, those arguments were unmistakably considered and rejected elsewhere in the court’s reasoning; and (2) as for Defendant’s attack on the guideline invoked by the district court, the First Circuit has, in settled precedent, upheld a district court’s discretion to follow it or not. View "United States v. Rivera-Hernandez" on Justia Law