United States v. Lucas McNulty-Snodgrass

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: July 18, 2022
• Docket: 22-1067
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 22-1067 ___________________________

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Lucas Michael McNulty-Snodgrass

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern ____________

Submitted: July 1, 2022 Filed: July 18, 2022 [Unpublished] ____________

Before GRUENDER, BENTON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Lucas McNulty-Snodgrass received a 210-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846, and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). An Anders brief suggests that the sentence is substantively unreasonable. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967). A pro se brief claims that Congress did not have the power to enact the two statutes that Snodgrass violated. See U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3; United States v. Morrison, 529 U.S. 598, 616–17 (2000).

Snodgrass’s constitutional argument is foreclosed by precedent. See Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1, 9 (2005); United States v. Nash, 627 F.3d 693, 696–97 (8th Cir. 2010). And the substantive-reasonableness challenge is belied by the record, which establishes that the district court 1 sufficiently considered the statutory sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and did not rely on an improper factor or commit a clear error of judgment. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461– 62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc).

Finally, we have independently reviewed the record and conclude that no other non-frivolous issues exist. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83 (1988). We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel permission to withdraw. ______________________________

1 The Honorable John A. Jarvey, then Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, now retired. -2-