United States v. Godfrey, No. 16-3612 (8th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's 120 month sentence after he pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. The court held that defendant failed to show that the district court committed plain error in assigning the burden of proof; the district court did not clearly err in finding that defendant did not accept responsibility for his offense; and the district court did not commit procedural error by failing to consider the guidelines in imposing its sentence and by failing to explain its chosen sentence. The court also held that the sentence was substantively reasonable, and the district court's imposition of the special condition of supervised release prohibiting him from using alcohol or entering bars or taverns was reasonable and not an abuse of discretion.
Court Description: Gruender, Author, with Wollman and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The court's comments at sentencing did not show that it had improperly shifted the burden of proving self-defense to the defendant; the district court did not clearly err in denying defendant an acceptance-of-responsibility reduction based on his false denial of his relevant conduct; the record showed the district court amply considered the sentencing guidelines in determining sentence; the district court provided an adequate explanation of its sentencing decision; the district court's decision to impose an upward variance was not an abuse of its discretion, and defendant's 120-month sentence was not substantively unreasonable; where the district court found defendant had a history of abusing alcohol, the imposition of a special condition prohibiting defendant from using alcohol or entering bars was not an abuse of the court's discretion.
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