United States v. Jeremy L. Addison
Opinion
Jeremy Lorenzo Addison pleaded guilty to forcibly assaulting a federal officer, in violation of
Addison’s base offense level under the United States Sentencing Guidelines was 14. U.S.S.G. § 2A2.2(a) (2015). He received a 3-level enhancement because the victim sustained bodily injury,
The government moved for an upward variance based on Addison’s criminal record, history of violence, and multiple death threats to federal officials, one of which he made to an Assistant United States Attorney while awaiting sentencing in this case. At sentencing, Addison contended that a guidelines sentence was appropriate in light of his troubled childhood and history of mental illness. The district court found that the seriousness of the offense, the need to protect the public, and Addison’s *584 history and characteristics warranted a 204 month sentence — a variance of 67 months over the high end of Addison’s guidelines range.
We review only for an abuse of discretion the reasonableness of. a sentence. United States v. Irey,
Addison first contends that his sentence is procedurally unreasonable because the district court failed to sufficiently justify the upward variance. We disagree. When a district court imposes a sentence outside the guidelines range, its justification must be “sufficiently compelling to support the degree of the variance.” Gall v. United States,
The record shows that the district court not only listened to the evidence and arguments, but also discussed at length the reasons supporting an upward variance. It described, among other things, the nature of the offense and Addison’s specific history and characteristics. Its reasoning comprised ten pages of the sentence hearing transcript. That was more than enough. See
Addison next contends that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. He argues that the district court gave short shrift to his specific history and characteristics, Under the abuse of discretion standard, we will affirm a sentence unless the district court “committed a clear error of judgment in weighing the § 3653(a) factors by arriving at a sentence that lies outside the range of reasonable sentences.” Irey,
The record shows that the district court considered Addison’s troubled childhood and history of mental illness among other factors, including the need to protect the public and his extensive criminal history, which included. seven convictions for battery on a detention officer, a conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and a conviction for threatening to kill the President and a Secret Service agent. Our task is not'to reweigh the § 3653(a) factors but to determine whether the district court abused its discretion. See
Finally, Addison argues that the district court should not have consideréd the facts supporting his several guidelines enhancements when deciding whether to vary upwards from the guidelines range. But our precedent permitted the district court to do precisely that. United States v. Rodriguez,
AFFIRMED.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jeremy L. ADDISON, Defendant-Appellant
- Status
- Unpublished