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Sentencing Guidelines – Enhancement

By: Derek Hawkins//December 31, 2018//

Sentencing Guidelines – Enhancement

By: Derek Hawkins//December 31, 2018//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Robert D. Taylor

Case No.: 18-1545

Officials: RIPPLE, SYKES, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sentencing Guidelines – Enhancement

Robert Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). His plea agreement contemplated an offense level of 31, which reflected a two-level reduction because Mr. Taylor had not sought to distribute child pornography. When the probation officer prepared the presentence report, she concluded that this two-level reduction was not available under the Guidelines. At the sentencing hearing, the parties stated that they had no objection to the presentence report; the district court then accepted the probation officer’s offense level calculation of 33 and sentenced Mr. Taylor to 135 months’ imprisonment, the low end of the guidelines range for a level 33 offense.

Mr. Taylor now contends that the Government was bound to advocate for a sentence within the lower range contemplated by the plea agreement. He submits that the Government’s advocacy for a within-Guidelines sentence based on the corrected calculation constitutes a breach of the plea agreement. He also contends that two enhancements contained within the plea agreement are erroneous. He asks that we remand the case for resentencing without the application of the enhancements and permit him the option to withdraw from the plea in its entirety.

We affirm. Under the plea agreement, the Government was bound to advocate for a within-Guidelines sentence; it fulfilled that obligation. The agreement has not been breached. Further, Mr. Taylor’s stipulations in the agreement waived his right to appeal the enhancements he now challenges. Even were we to disregard that waiver, we would conclude that the district court was on solid ground in imposing sentence.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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