USA v. Michael Maier, No. 09-10397 (9th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his sentence of 210 months imprisonment and a lifetime term of supervised release for receipt/distribution of child pornography. At issue was whether the district court correctly relied on the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) to guide its discretions in choosing which of two counts to dismiss when required to do so by the Double Jeopardy Clause where the district court noted that Ninth Circuit precedent prohibited conviction and sentencing for both possession and receipt/distribution of child pornography when the charges were predicated on the same set of images. Also at issue was whether the district court's sentence was procedurally or substantively unreasonable. The court held that, in choosing which count to vacate, the district court clearly evaluated the totality of the circumstances of defendant's case under United States v. Hector along with the section 3553(a) factors and therefore, did not abuse its discretion. The court also held that the sentence was procedurally and substantively reasonable where the district court carefully and correctly considered the factors set forth in section 3553(a) in sentencing the defendant.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on July 18, 2011.
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