Summary
The Second Circuit affirmed the substantive and procedural reasonableness of an above-Guidelines 24-month imprisonment sentence and a 15-year supervised release term imposed upon a defendant’s seventh revocation of supervised release for failing to report, holding that the district court adequately explained its reasons and that the sentence was not shockingly high given the defendant’s extensive revocation history. However, the court vacated four special conditions: Special Condition 5 was unconstitutionally vague because it prohibited communication without identifying any person or category, and Special Conditions 8–10 (internet monitoring, employer notification regarding computer use, and a ban on sexually explicit materials) were vacated because the district court failed to articulate individualized reasons for their imposition, as required by due process and § 5D1.3(b). The case was remanded for the district court to either provide individualized justifications for the latter conditions or remove them.
Holdings
- The district court did not plainly err in its explanation for the above-Guidelines sentence of imprisonment and the 15-year term of supervised release.
- The 24-month term of imprisonment and 15-year term of supervised release were substantively reasonable.
- Special Condition 5 is unconstitutionally vague and must be vacated.
- Special Conditions 8, 9, and 10 are vacated because the district court failed to adequately articulate individualized reasons for imposing them.
Questions Presented
- Whether the district court's sentence of 24 months' imprisonment and 15 years' supervised release was procedurally unreasonable due to inadequate explanation.
- Whether the sentence was substantively unreasonable.
- Whether Special Condition 5 (no-contact restriction) is unconstitutionally vague.
- Whether Special Conditions 8, 9, and 10 (internet monitoring, employer notification, and ban on sexually explicit materials) were imposed without adequate individualized reasoning.
Disposition
other
Cases Cited (23)
- United States v. Brooks, 889 F.3d 95 (2d Cir. 2018)(relied on)
- United States v. Betts, 886 F.3d 198 (2d Cir. 2018)(relied on)
- United States v. Cavera, 550 F.3d 180 (2d Cir. 2008) (en banc)(relied on)
- United States v. Anderson, 15 F.3d 278 (2d Cir. 1994)(relied on)
- United States v. Genao, 869 F.3d 136 (2d Cir. 2017)(relied on)
- United States v. Pereira, 465 F.3d 515 (2d Cir. 2006)(relied on)
- United States v. Smith, 949 F.3d 60 (2d Cir. 2020)(relied on)
- United States v. Aldeen, 792 F.3d 247 (2d Cir. 2015)(relied on)
- United States v. Verkhoglyad, 516 F.3d 122 (2d Cir. 2008)(relied on)
- United States v. Marcus, 560 U.S. 258 (2010)(relied on)
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Cited In (0)
No citing cases on record yet.