United States v. Morais, No. 11-1793 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseDefendant pleaded guilty to two counts of receiving child pornography and subsequently challenged his term of imprisonment, the imposition of a fine, and two special conditions of his supervised release. The court held that the sentence imposed was not unreasonable; there was no clear error in the district court's conclusion that defendant could pay the minimum fine recommended by the sentencing guidelines; and the special condition on the use of the Internet did not involve a greater deprivation of liberty than was reasonably necessary to protect the public and to deter criminal activity in light of the record. The court remanded with instructions to amend the written judgment to conform to the oral pronouncement of special condition one.
Court Description: Criminal Case - sentence. Sentence as low end of guideline range for receiving child pornography was not unreasonable. The record included sufficient reasons to reject a downward departure or variance and consideration of the impact of defendant's autism diagnosis. District court did not clearly err in imposing a fine based on the defendant's income, earning capacity and financial resources. Because oral pronouncement and written judgment conflict with respect to condition of supervised release, case is remanded to amend written judgment to conform to oral pronouncement of special condition. Special condition four restricting access to the internet without prior approval was sufficiently narrow and does not involve a greater deprivation of liberty than is reasonably necessary.
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