United States v. R. Bernal-Gonzalez, No. 06-4031 (8th Cir. 2007)

 Annotate this Case

Court Description: Criminal Case - Anders. 87-month sentence for drug offense, at bottom of Guidelines range, is not unreasonable.

Download PDF
United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT ___________ No. 06-4031 ___________ United States of America, Appellee, v. Rafael Bernal-Gonzalez, Appellant. * * * * Appeal from the United States * District Court for the * District of Nebraska. * * [UNPUBLISHED] * ___________ Submitted: October 5, 2007 Filed: November 7, 2007 ___________ Before MURPHY, SMITH, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges. ___________ PER CURIAM. Rafael Bernal-Gonzalez appeals the 87-month sentence the district court1 imposed upon his guilty plea to a drug offense, in violation of 21 U.S.C. ยงยง 841(a)(1), (b)(1), and 846. Bernal-Gonzalez s counsel has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and moves to withdraw. For reversal, he argues that Bernal-Gonzalez s sentence, which was imposed at the bottom of the uncontested Guidelines range, is unreasonable. 1 The Honorable Joseph F. Bataillon, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. We review Bernal-Gonzalez s sentence for reasonableness, and given that it falls within the advisory Guidelines range, it is presumptively reasonable. See Rita v. United States, 127 S. Ct. 2456, 2462 (2007) (discussing presumption). We see no basis in the record for concluding that Bernal-Gonzalez s sentence is unreasonable, see United States v. Haack, 403 F.3d 997, 1003-04 (8th Cir. 2005) (factors); and further, after reviewing the record independently under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), we have found no nonfrivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we affirm, and we grant counsel leave to withdraw. ______________________________ -2-

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.