Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-05-02221/USCOURTS-ca8-05-02221-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Carey Blanchard
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 05-2221

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

*

v. * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the

Carey Blanchard, * Northern District of Iowa.

*

Appellant. * [UNPUBLISHED]

___________

Submitted: October 13, 2005

Filed: January 4, 2006

___________

Before ARNOLD, MURPHY, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Carey Blanchard appeals a judgment of conviction and sentence entered after

a jury found her guilty on three criminal counts: manufacturing, attempting to

manufacture, or aiding and abetting the attempted manufacture of 50 grams or more

of methamphetamine, see 18 U.S.C. § 2; 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), 846;

attempting to manufacture or aiding and abetting the attempted manufacture of

methamphetamine while creating a substantial risk of harm to the life of a minor, see

18 U.S.C. § 2; 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 858, 846; and receiving or

possessing or aiding and abetting the receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm,

Appellate Case: 05-2221 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/04/2006 Entry ID: 1992836
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The Honorable Linda R. Reade, United States District Judge for the Northern

District of Iowa. 

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see 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841, 5861(d), 5871. Following her conviction, the district court1

sentenced Ms. Blanchard to 228 months in prison.

Ms. Blanchard first challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting each

of her three convictions. Reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the

government, and accepting all reasonable inferences that support the jury's verdict, as

we must, see United States v. Barth, 424 F.3d 752, 761 (8th Cir. 2005), we conclude

that the record contains evidence sufficient to support the jury's verdict on each count.

Testimony at trial supported a reasonable inference that Ms. Blanchard knew that her

co-defendant, Shannon Lochner, was manufacturing methamphetamine at her

residence; that she assisted him in storing some of the necessary elements for

manufacturing methamphetamine; that she exposed her children to the substantial

risks associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine; and that she was aware

that a sawed-off shotgun found at one of her residences was illegal. Although

Ms. Blanchard's testimony attempted to explain away this evidence, we are obliged

to defer to the jury's determination of witness credibility. Id. at 762.

Ms. Blanchard's other contention is that the district court's sentence was

unreasonable in light of United States v. Booker, 125 S. Ct. 738, 765-67 (2005). She

contends that Mr. Lochner was more culpable than she was but was given a lower

sentence. Mr. Lochner entered a guilty plea on the day that the trial began and was

sentenced to a term of 168 months. Because Ms. Blanchard's sentence was 60 months

longer than Mr. Lochner's, she contends that her sentence is unreasonable, particularly

in light of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6), which by its terms requires a sentencing court to

avoid "unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants with similar records who

have been found guilty of similar conduct."

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As an initial matter, the United States contends that Ms. Blanchard's sentence

is unreviewable pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a), which governs a defendant's right

to appeal a sentence. But we have previously determined that a sentence that is

unreasonable is imposed "in violation of law" within the meaning of § 3742(a).

18 U.S.C. § 3742(a)(1); United States v. Frokjer, 415 F.3d 865, 875 n.3 (8th Cir.

2005). We therefore have jurisdiction under § 3742(a)(1) to consider Ms. Blanchard's

appeal of her sentence.

Turning to the merits, we believe that the sentence imposed by the district court

was reasonable. Ms. Blanchard was convicted of participating in the manufacture of

methamphetamine, a dangerous drug with volatile precursors, in an apartment that she

shared with her two children, ages 12 and 9. She also kept a sawed-off shotgun in her

residence and did not lock the door to the room where it was kept. The district court

noted that the jury's conviction of Ms. Blanchard necessarily reflected its finding that

she was untruthful in her trial testimony. Under these circumstances, we cannot say

that the court's decision to sentence Ms. Blanchard to 228 months in prison (which

was significantly lower than the sentencing guidelines range of 324 to 405 months)

amounted to an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Dalton, 404 F.3d 1029, 1032

(8th Cir. 2005). Nor do we believe that the district court violated § 3553(a)(6).

Mr. Lochner pleaded guilty to charges that were different from Ms. Blanchard's, and

he accepted responsibility for his actions. These distinctions "often justif[y] a more

favorable sentence." United States v. Chauncey, 420 F.3d 864, 878 (8th Cir. 2005).

For the reasons stated, we affirm the judgment of conviction and the sentence

imposed by the district court.

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Appellate Case: 05-2221 Page: 3 Date Filed: 01/04/2006 Entry ID: 1992836