United States v. Flores-Gonzalez, No. 19-2204 (1st Cir. 2022)
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The First Circuit vacated Defendant's sentence entered after he pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a machine gun, holding that Defendant's upwardly variant sentence could not stand.
After a hearing, the sentencing judge imposed a variant sentence of forty-eight months - eighteen months more than the top of the recommended sentencing range. On appeal, Defendant argued that his incarcerative term was procedurally and substantively unreasonable. The First Circuit agreed with one of Defendant's claims of procedural error, holding (1) under United States v. Rivera-Berrios, 968 F.3d 130 (1st Cir. 2020), when neither the judge nor the record identifies a "special characteristic attributable either to the offender" or the circumstances of the offense that removes the "case from the mile-run," the upwardly variant sentence "cannot endure"; and (2) the judge erred in sentencing Defendant.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on May 23, 2022.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on November 8, 2023.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on December 5, 2023.
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