United States v. Lawson, No. 16-2263 (1st Cir. 2018)
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The First Circuit vacated Defendant’s fifteen-year term of supervised release imposed in connection with Defendant’s guilty plea to violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
On appeal, Defendant argued that under United States v. Medina, 779 F.3d 55 (1st Cir. 2015), the recommended term under the guidelines was a five-year term of supervised release for his offense. The First Circuit held that the guideline is merely a recommendation and that the judge is free to vary upward or downward, but the judge is expected to explain why a variance was imposed in any particular case. Therefore, this case must be remanded for the district court to decide what term to impose and, if over five years, to explain the upward variance.
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