United States v. Jack Knight

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 20-2300

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United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Jack Eugene Knight

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant

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Appeal from United States District Court for the District of Nebraska - Lincoln

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Submitted: January 18, 2021 Filed: January 22, 2021

[Unpublished]

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Before COLLOTON, GRUENDER, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Jack Knight appeals the sentence imposed by the district court1 after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal employee. His counsel has moved for leave to withdraw,

1 The Honorable Richard G. Kopf, United States District Judge for the District of Nebraska.

and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), arguing that the sentence was unreasonable.

Upon careful review, we conclude that the district court did not impose a substantively unreasonable sentence, as the court properly considered the factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and did not err in weighing the relevant factors. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461-62 (8th Cir. 2009) (sentences are reviewed for substantive reasonableness under deferential abuse of discretion standard; abuse of discretion occurs when court fails to consider relevant factor, gives significant weight to improper or irrelevant factor, or commits clear error of judgment in weighing appropriate factors). Further, the court imposed a sentence below the Guidelines range. See United States v. McCauley, 715 F.3d 1119, 1127 (8th Cir. 2013) (noting that when district court has varied below Guidelines range, it is “nearly inconceivable” that court abused its discretion in not varying downward further).

We have also independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), and we find no non-frivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment, and we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw.

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