By: Derek Hawkins//October 28, 2019//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: United States of America v. Anthony Loren Gardner
Case No.: 18-1731
Officials: FLAUM, KANNE, and SYKES, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Sentencing Guidelines
Anthony Gardner was arrested after firing a gun at two vehicles thought to be driven by rival gang members. He pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon. The district judge imposed an above-Guidelines sentence based in part on Gardner’s use of violence in a prior burglary.
On appeal Gardner argues procedural error. He insists that the so-called “categorical approach,” with all its doctrinal arcana and limitations, applies when a judge exercises Booker discretion to impose an above-Guidelines sentence based on a defendant’s aggravating conduct in a prior crime. Not so. The sentencing judge may consider aggravating circumstances in a defendant’s criminal record without the constraints imposed by the categorical approach that usually applies to statutory sentencing enhancements and the determination of offense-level increases and criminal-history points under the Sentencing Guidelines. Gardner also argues that the judge inadequately addressed his mental-health challenges and relied on inaccurate information in the presentence report. These arguments are waived and forfeited, respectively, and the forfeited argument does not involve a plain error. We affirm.
Affirmed