Opinion ID: 3046122
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Severity of the Sentence

Text: Morales argues that his sentence is greater than necessary to meet the sentencing 5 goals of punishment and deterrence. At the sentencing hearing, he argued that a sentence at the bottom of the Guidelines range, or 77 months, would be more than six times longer than any one of his previously served terms of imprisonment. He asserted that “this dramatic increase in sentence is sufficient, but not greater than necessary[,] to punish [ ] and deter him and others from illegally reentering the country.” Although Morales claims that his sentence is procedurally unreasonable, essentially he also challenges its substantive reasonableness. We do not view this solely as a procedural issue because the District Court gave “meaningful consideration” to the applicable § 3553(a) sentencing factors in fashioning his sentence. See Lessner, 498 F.3d at 203. The Court specifically discussed the need to punish Morales for illegal reentry and deter him from committing future offenses.2 It listed his prior convictions, noting the more serious nature of the offenses over time and his “significant criminal history.” Given this history, the Court stated that he “has proved to represent a danger to the community, including children.” It also believed that he likely would try to reenter the United States after removal, such that the punishment given was needed to protect the public and provide some measure of deterrence so that he and others would “know that there are serious consequences to [these actions].” There is also no question that his sentence of 90 months’ imprisonment is substantively reasonable. Given, among other things, his long and serious rap sheet, 2 We note that the authorities detected Morales’s illegal reentry only after he was arrested for a violent assault involving a knife, although he was never indicted for the latter crime. 6 repeated lies to authorities, lack of history of gainful employment or other productive efforts in the United States, and failure of his previous periods of incarceration to provide deterrence, this argument borders on disdainful.