Judge finds guidelines flawed, Sixth Circuit vacates sentence

The Sixth Circuit has vacated and remanded the sentencing of a defendant after the district court imposed one day in jail and ten years supervised release for possession of child pornography because the judge objected to the sentencing guidelines. United States v. Bistline, 665 F.3d 758 (6th Cir. 2012).

After pleading guilty to the possession of 305 images and 56 videos of child pornography, the district court refused to follow the guidelines range of 63 to 78 months' imprisonment because it felt "that 'the guidelines for possession of child pornography are seriously flawed.'" Ultimately, the court sentenced the defendant to one night in jail and 10 years of supervised release. On appeal, the government argued that the sentence was "substantively unreasonable."

The district court considered several issues at sentencing including the need for adequate deterrence, the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities, and the history and characteristics of the defendant. The court found that "the humiliation of his arrest and [his] prosecution" was sufficient deterrence, but the Sixth Circuit disagreed. Likewise, the court found that the imposed sentence creates disparities in sentencing rather than avoiding them. Lastly, the district court used the defendant's age and need to care for his wife to justify the sentence, but the appellate court found that their children could have cared for her.

At sentencing, the district court also found it troubling that Congress had been involved in creating the relevant guidelines, but the Sixth Circuit had no objection to that and felt that any "political considerations" that might have influenced their decision could also happen in the courtroom.