United States v. Harrington, No. 18-30141 (9th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence for assault by strangling a spouse in Indian country. The panel held that the district court did not impermissibly double count when it applied a three-level sentencing enhancement for strangling a spouse under USSG 2A2.2(b)(4). The panel explained that it is possible to be sentenced under section 2A2.2(a) without having strangled one's spouse, and thus the base offense level does not necessarily "capture the full extent of the wrongfulness" of defendant's behavior.
Court Description: Criminal Law. Affirming a sentence for assault by strangling a spouse in Indian country, the panel held that the district court’s application of a three-level enhancement set forth in U.S.S.G. § 2A2.2(b)(4) – for the specific offense characteristic of strangling a spouse – does not constitute impermissible double counting, because it is possible to be sentenced under U.S.S.G. § 2A2.2(a), which sets the base offense level for a broad range of conduct, without having strangled one’s spouse.
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