Sentencing Guidelines

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Shazariyah Hibbett

Case No.: 22-2715

Officials: Rovner, Wood, and Hamilton, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sentencing Guidelines

The defendant, Shazariyah Hibbett, who received a sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm contested the sentence, and that the district court had erroneously applied a two-level enhancement under the United States Sentencing Guideline § 3C1.2 for reckless endangerment during flight. Hibbett argued that he was merely a passenger in a vehicle that evaded police and did not incite the driver to flee.

The Seventh Circuit determined that the district court had not committed an error. It pointed out that evidence, such as video footage of the vehicle evading police and statements from the driver, supported the enhancement to Hibbett’s sentence. Additionally, the court dismissed Hibbett’s claim regarding Northern District of Illinois Local Rule 79.1, which concerns the control of trial exhibits, stating that he had not shown how the application of the local rule to his case caused any harm.

Consequently, the court upheld the district court’s decision, confirming Hibbett’s sentence. Furthermore, it suggested that Hibbett’s concerns about Local Rule 79.1 be addressed to the Advisory Committee for the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Affirmed.

Decided 03/28/24

Full Text