United States v. Anthony Morgan, 987 F.3d 627

Anthony Morgan pleaded guilty to one-count conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 371 for arranging transfer of seven out-of-state firearms to his Chicago residence; several guns were later linked to gang-related homicides.
PSR recommended offense level 17 (acceptance of responsibility credited), criminal-history category I, and a Guidelines range of 24–30 months; defense did not object to the calculations.
At sentencing the district court adopted the PSR, heard allocution (expressed concern about Morgan minimizing gang involvement), and imposed 48 months’ imprisonment (above the Guidelines) citing § 3553(a) factors and general deterrence.
The court also imposed discretionary supervised-release conditions: Condition 16 (probation officer visits and confiscation of contraband in plain view) and Condition 23 (searches of person/property/vehicles/computers based on reasonable suspicion).
Morgan appealed, arguing the 48-month sentence was procedurally and substantively unreasonable, that the court erred in limiting his acceptance-of-responsibility credit, and that Condition 23 was an abuse of discretion.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the prison sentence and acceptance-of-responsibility credit but vacated and remanded only Condition 23 for the district court to justify its necessity vis-à-vis Condition 16 and § 3553(a).

Issue	Morgan's Argument	Government/District Court Argument	Held
1. Procedural and substantive reasonableness of 48‑month term	Sentence was excessive and lacked sufficient justification for variance above Guidelines	Court relied on § 3553(a) factors (seriousness, gang violence, general deterrence) and adopted PSR	Affirmed: court adequately considered § 3553(a) and did not abuse discretion in imposing 48 months
2. Whether court erred in crediting acceptance of responsibility	Court should have given full credit; allocution showed remorse	Court did credit acceptance (3 levels) via PSR; court may still weigh allocution in setting sentence	Affirmed: credit was given; judge permissibly considered allocution when varying sentence
3. Validity of supervised‑release Condition 23 (warrantless searches with reasonable suspicion)	Condition 23 is overbroad, duplicates Condition 16, and restricts liberty without case‑specific justification	Judge argued searches appropriate given nature of offense and weapons used in collateral crimes	Reversed in part: Condition 23 vacated and remanded for reconsideration because court failed to explain why both conditions were necessary and how Condition 23 relates to § 3553(a)

United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005) (Guidelines are advisory post‑Booker)
Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007) (standards for variances from Guidelines)
United States v. Kappes, 782 F.3d 828 (7th Cir.) (conditions of supervised release require individualized findings; remand principles)
United States v. Siegel, 753 F.3d 705 (7th Cir. 2014) (judge must make independent judgment about release conditions tied to defendant’s conduct)
United States v. Evans, 727 F.3d 730 (7th Cir. 2013) (release conditions must relate to § 3553(a) and be no greater than necessary)
United States v. Chatman, 805 F.3d 840 (7th Cir. 2015) (duplicative conditions may be harmless; analysis of when remand required)
United States v. Pennington, 908 F.3d 234 (7th Cir. 2018) (procedural reasonableness review framework)