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Sentencing — reasonableness

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//March 6, 2014//

Sentencing — reasonableness

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//March 6, 2014//

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Sentencing — reasonableness

Where the district court did not address the argument of a child pornography defendant that he should receive leniency because he had no history of actual sexual contact with children, the sentence must be vacated.

“It is undeniable that Poulin received a below-range sentence, but that does not mean the district judge adequately considered and took into account Poulin’s argument that the overall calculation was excessive here. First, this is not a situation where a judge failed to address an argument that was ‘so weak as not to merit discussion.’ See United States v. Cunnigham, 429 F.3d 673, 679 (7th Cir. 2005) (‘A judge who fails to mention a ground of recognized legal merit (provided it has a factual basis) is likely to have committed an error or oversight.’). We previously held that Poulin’s argument— ‘that the child-pornography guidelines do not approximate the goals of sentencing when applied to defendants convicted only of possession who have no history of contact offenses’—is a valid argument that a sentencing judge must address. United States v. Martin, 718 F.3d 684, 687–88 (7th Cir. 2013). The judge was thus required to con? sider it, and then provide reasons explaining his acceptance or rejection of it. He did not do that here. Cf. United States v. Pape, 601 F.3d 743, 749 (7th Cir. 2010).”

Vacated and Remanded.

13-1592 U.S. v. Poulin

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Mihm, J., Durkin, J.

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