United States v. Lee, No. 18-2391 (6th Cir. 2020)
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In 2003, Lee, age 21, was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct after he pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old whom he met at a bar that required patrons to be at least 18 years old to enter. He completed his 12-month custodial sentence. From 2004-2018, Lee consistently violated the conditions of his parole, most often by failing to comply with sex offender registration laws and location monitoring. Lee was punished and incarcerated for each of those violations. In 2018, while on parole, Lee was a passenger in his girlfriend’s car. Law enforcement initiated a traffic stop and instructed Lee to exit the vehicle. Lee attempted to flee. Officers tackled him and discovered that he was in possession of an unregistered firearm. Lee pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(j) and was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment, reflecting an upward variance of almost two years from the high end of Lee’s 30-37 months guidelines range, purportedly due to Lee’s criminal history.
The Sixth Circuit vacated. A court may vary upward from a defendant’s advisory guidelines range based on criminal history and a specific need for deterrence, 18 U.S.C. 3553(a). But here, nothing uniquely problematic about the defendant’s criminal history demonstrates a specific need for deterrence beyond that already captured in the guidelines range. Lee’s criminal history has little bearing on the instant offense; it does not justify the two-year upward variance.
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