United States v. Growden
2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 24844
| 8th Cir. | 2011Background
- Growden was sentenced to 27 months' imprisonment followed by 3 years' supervised release for wire fraud.
- During early supervised release, Growden admitted to violating a release condition and the district court redefined the fiduciary condition, warning him to avoid financial services and third-party investments.
- In February 2011, after a second admission of violations, the district court revoked Growden's supervised release.
- The court found multiple violations, including attempts to arrange financing for an Italian winery and investments in inventions, plus lies to probation officers.
- The guideline range on revocation was 3–9 months, but the court varied upward to 24 months' imprisonment and one year of supervised release.
- Growden appeals the sentence as substantively unreasonable, arguing first-time-offender status, lack of new crime, and non-seriousness of emails.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the revocation sentence is substantively reasonable. | Growden | Growden | Sentence not substantively unreasonable |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Benton, 627 F.3d 1051 (8th Cir.2010) (abuses of discretion reviewed for reasonableness in revocation)
- United States v. Merrival, 521 F.3d 889 (8th Cir.2008) (reasonableness standard mirrors initial sentencing)
- Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007) (procedural and substantive reasonableness; abuse of discretion standard)
- United States v. Thunder, 553 F.3d 605 (8th Cir.2009) (reasonableness review for revocation sentences)
- United States v. Kreitinger, 576 F.3d 500 (8th Cir.2009) (factors for weighing sentence in revocation cases)
- United States v. Miner, 544 F.3d 930 (8th Cir.2008) (balancing § 3553(a) factors in revocations)