United States v. Donta Boelter, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 20721

Donta Boelter pleaded guilty (Jan 29, 2010) to retaliating against a witness (18 U.S.C. § 1513(b)(1)); Guidelines range 30–37 months.
At original sentencing (Sept 7, 2011) the district court varied downward to time served (47 days) plus 3 years supervised release.
A petition to revoke supervised release was filed May 14, 2014 alleging unemployment, multiple marijuana positives, presence at a residence with drugs, and failure to complete community service; Boelter admitted eight marijuana uses.
A second petition (Dec 10, 2014) alleged, among other things, a Dec 7, 2014 arrest for trespass and marijuana possession and other residence/notification violations; Boelter did not admit those pending state charges.
All violations were graded C; with Criminal History I the advisory revocation range was 3–9 months; Probation recommended 24 months with no supervision; the district court sentenced Boelter to 24 months with no supervision.
Boelter appealed, arguing the 24‑month term was substantively unreasonable under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether 24‑month revocation sentence was substantively unreasonable	Boelter: court overweighed unproven allegations from second petition and underweighted his rehabilitative progress	Government/district court: court properly weighed § 3553(a) factors, including seriousness, respect for law, deterrence, and prior downward departure	Affirmed: sentence not substantively unreasonable; within district court's broad discretion

United States v. Growden, 663 F.3d 982 (8th Cir. 2011) (reasonableness standard for revocation sentences equals that for initial sentences)
United States v. Lozoya, 623 F.3d 624 (8th Cir. 2010) (defines substantive‑reasonableness review and error in weighing § 3553(a) factors)
United States v. Bridges, 569 F.3d 374 (8th Cir. 2009) (district court has wide latitude in assigning weight to § 3553(a) factors)