United States v. Ryser

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's sentence imposed after defendant violated the conditions of her probation by participating in an illegal "lottery" scam. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing defendant where it considered the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors and the guideline range for the probation violations, as well as considered the guideline range of thirty to thirty-seven months' imprisonment for the underlying convictions. In this case, the district court acted within its discretion in considering the nature and circumstances of a defendant's probation violation and defendant's defiance of her probation conditions. Furthermore, the district court gave sufficient weight to her history and characteristics, such as her lack of criminal history; the nature of her underlying convictions; her limited role in the scam; and her poor health. Therefore, the sentence was substantively reasonable. View "United States v. Ryser" on Justia Law