US v. Leach, No. 22-1878 (1st Cir. 2023)
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In this case, Gary E. Leach was convicted of cyberstalking and extortion and subsequently sentenced to a term of forty-two months in prison, followed by thirty-six months of supervised release. The supervised release included a condition prohibiting Leach from working or volunteering in any capacity that would put him in direct contact with children without prior approval from his probation officer. Leach appealed his sentence and the condition of his supervised release, raising several arguments.
First, Leach argued that the district court erred in not providing him with sufficient notice of its intention to impose an upwardly variant sentence. However, the First Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, noting that a sentencing court is not required to give the parties advance notice before imposing an upwardly variant sentence. The court also noted that the factors justifying the upward variance were plainly apparent from the record.
Second, Leach argued that his sentence was procedurally flawed due to the lack of a sufficient explanation to justify the above-guidelines sentence. The First Circuit rejected this argument, explaining that the district court had identified relevant factors justifying an upward variance and explained why the guidelines did not adequately account for each factor, given the idiosyncrasies of the case at hand.
Third, Leach argued that his sentence was substantively unreasonable. The First Circuit disagreed, finding that the sentence fell within the "wide universe of supportable sentencing outcomes."
Finally, Leach challenged the condition of his supervised release that prohibited him from working or volunteering in any capacity that would put him in direct contact with children. The First Circuit rejected this argument, finding that the condition was reasonably related to protecting the public from future crimes by Leach. The court also noted that the condition was not overly restrictive, as it only required Leach to secure advance approval from a probation officer for such activity if it would put him in direct contact with children.
Therefore, the First Circuit affirmed Leach's sentence and the conditions of his supervised release.
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