Sentencing

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Alfred Jerry

Case No.: 22-1302

Officials: Sykes, Chief Judge, and Hamilton and Brennan, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sentencing

After robbing a cellphone store at gunpoint, Jerry pleaded guilty to three crimes, including Hobbs Act robbery. The district court sentenced Jerry as a career offender under the Sentencing Guidelines. Jerry appealed that designation, and the court remanded for resentencing based on this court’s holding in Bridges v. United States, 991 F.3d 793, 797 (7th Cir. 2021), that Hobbs Act robbery is not categorically a “crime of violence.” United States v. Jerry, 996 F.3d 495, 496– 97, 499 (7th Cir. 2021) (Jerry I). On remand, the district court resentenced Jerry to 171 months’ imprisonment and a period of supervised release. Jerry appeals the new sentence, arguing that the district court committed procedural error and that the sentence is substantively unreasonable. Jerry’s new sentence is both procedurally and substantively reasonable, according to the Seventh Circuit. The district court correctly calculated the applicable Guidelines range, thoroughly considered the relevant § 3553(a) factors, and fashioned a sentence that varied upward to account for Jerry’s conduct during his crimes and his impact on the victims

Affirmed.

Decided 12/22/22

Full Text