United States v. Ayres, No. 18-2534 (8th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. The court affirmed and held that, whether it followed the line of authority that categorizes a district court's consideration of an allegedly improper or irrelevant factor as a procedural error, or consider defendant's argument as a substantive challenge, there was no sentencing error. In this case, the district court did not base its sentencing decision on the contested allegations of the PSR, but on its decision to impose an upward variance on the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors. Therefore, defendant's sentence was substantively reasonable.
Court Description: Beam, Author, with Colloton and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The district court did not base its sentencing decision on the contested allegations of the PSR; rather, the district court based its decision to impose an upward variance on 3553(a) factors, including the need to promote respect for the law, the seriousness of the offense conduct and the need to protect the public.
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