United States v. Madera-Rivera, No. 17-1319 (1st Cir. 2018)
Annotate this Case
The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s 180-month sentence for conspiracy to possess five kilograms or more of cocaine with intent to distribute, holding that the district court’s failure to impose a downward departure or downward variance was not an abuse of discretion and that Defendant’s sentence was substantively reasonable.
After Defendant pleaded guilty to the offense, he sought a downward departure under U.S.S.G. 5H1.4 - as well as a downward variance - arguing that his life would be shortened by a guidelines sentence since prison facilities would be unable to address fully his medical needs. The court imposed a sentence within the guidelines range. The First Circuit affirmed the sentence, holding (1) Defendant’s health condition did not warrant a downward departure; (2) Defendant’s arguments for a downward variance were properly rejected by the district court; and (3) Defendant’s sentence was both “plausibly reasoned and within the universe of reasonable sentences.”
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 20, 2018.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.