October 14th, 2020

United States v. Montgomery

Docket: 19-50535
Opinion Date: October 13, 2020
Judge: Per Curiam
Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (Count 1); possession with intent to distribute cocaine (Count 2); and distribution of methamphetamine (Count 3). The court rejected defendant's contention that the district court misapplied USSG 4A1.1(e) and held that his criminal history score was correctly calculated; defendant's above-Guidelines sentence is substantively reasonable where the district court based its decision on a number of the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors, including not only defendant's criminal history, but also the nature and circumstances of the offense and the need for the sentence imposed to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct and to protect the public; and, under the totality of the circumstances, the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing defendant's sentence.

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