Summary
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed Rodrecas Tims's 108-month, above-guidelines sentence for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The court held that Tims had not shown that the district court improperly weighed the sentencing factors or otherwise abused its discretion.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Tims's above-guidelines sentence was substantively unreasonable because the statutory sentencing factors did not justify the upward variance.
- Whether the district court improperly weighed Tims's criminal conduct, including prior convictions and alleged conduct in pending state cases, when imposing sentence.
Holdings
- The 108-month above-guidelines sentence was not substantively unreasonable, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing it.
Key quotations
“Tims has not shown that the district court gave improper weight to any factor or committed a clear error of judgment in balancing the pertinent sentencing factors.” (2)
“The district court did not abuse its discretion.” (2)
Factual background
Rodrecas Tims received a 108-month sentence, above the advisory guidelines range, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He challenged the upward variance, arguing that the nature and circumstances of the offense were not unusual or egregious, that his prior convictions occurred many years earlier when he was a minor, and that the district court should not have relied on alleged criminal conduct in pending state cases.
Procedural history
Tims was sentenced by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi to 108 months of imprisonment after being convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He appealed, arguing that the upward variance was substantively unreasonable. The Fifth Circuit affirmed on its summary calendar.