United States v. Walker, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 16528

Walker, a federal prisoner, was sentenced to 36 months for two felonious counts of credit card fraud.
He was assigned to the Salvation Army Halfway House in January 2009 under supervision of the Attorney General.
On January 29, 2009, he willfully signed out and did not return by 5:00 p.m., constituting an escape.
He remained outside the confinement until apprehension on February 19, 2009.
PSR started with base level 13, applied two reductions for escape and two for acceptance, total offense level 7, with CRH VI, yielding a guideline range of 15–21 months.
Walker's motion for additional downward departure or variance was denied; the court indicated an above-guidelines sentence to facilitate treatment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the sentence is substantively reasonable under 3553(a).	Walker contends the sentence is too long.	Walker argues the court improperly exercised discretion under §3553(a).	The sentence is substantively unreasonable due to impermissible reliance on rehabilitation.
Whether the court impermissibly lengthened the sentence to promote rehabilitation in violation of Tapia.	Tapia prohibits sentences aimed at rehabilitation; Walker cites rehabilitation factors.	Walker argues the court considered treatment and drug rehabilitation legitimately.	District court relied on impermissible factors, violating Tapia; remand for resentencing.

Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007) (reasonableness review under an abuse-of-discretion standard)
United States v. Webb, 403 F.3d 373 (6th Cir.2005) (examples of substantive unreasonableness)
United States v. Dexta, 470 F.3d 612 (6th Cir.2006) (parsing §3553(a) and sentence reasonableness)
United States v. Trejo-Martinez, 481 F.3d 409 (6th Cir.2007) (limits on entitlements to leniency on appeal regarding sentence choice)
Tapia v. United States, 131 S. Ct. 2382 (2011) (court may not lengthen a sentence to promote rehabilitation)