United States v. Cunningham

Cunningham pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess stolen firearms and ammunition, 18 U.S.C. 371 and 922(j); possession of stolen firearms and ammunition, section 922(j); and possession of firearms by a felon, section 922(g)(1). The district court sentenced him to 60 months on the conspiracy count, 12 months on the 922(j) count, and 116 months on the felon‐in‐possession count, all to run consecutively; his total sentence was 188 months’ imprisonment, which was at the bottom of the advisory guidelines range. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting Cunningham’s arguments that the district court’s limitation on his presentation of character witness testimony at sentencing violated Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(i)(4)(A)(ii) and that the resulting sentence is substantively unreasonable. Rule 32(i)(4)(A)(ii) does not govern the calling of character witnesses at sentencing and the district court did not abuse its discretion in its consideration of Cunningham’s mitigation evidence. The sentence imposed was the product of the district court’s careful and compassionate consideration of all the evidence in a very difficult sentencing situation. View "United States v. Cunningham" on Justia Law