U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 2025

United States v. Nicholas Thomas

United States v. Nicholas Thomas
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Decided September 26, 2025

United States v. Nicholas Thomas

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 25-1600 ___________________________ United States of America lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee v. Nicholas Carl Thomas lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Western ____________ Submitted: September 18, 2025 Filed: September 26, 2025 [Unpublished] ____________ Before SMITH, KELLY, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM.

Nicholas Thomas appeals the below-Guidelines-range sentence the district court imposed after he pleaded guilty to a drug offense. His counsel has moved to The Honorable Stephen H. Locher, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa. withdraw, and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), challenging the sentence as substantively unreasonable.

Upon careful review, we conclude that the district court did not impose a substantively unreasonable sentence, as the court properly considered the factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and did not err in weighing the relevant factors. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc) (reviewing substantive reasonableness of sentence under deferential abuse-of-discretion standard; abuse of discretion occurs when court fails to consider relevant factor, gives significant weight to improper or irrelevant factor, or commits clear error of judgment in weighing appropriate factors).

We have independently reviewed the record pursuant to Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), and have found no non-frivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we grant counsel leave to withdraw, and affirm. ______________________________

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