Opinion ID: 3038698
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the offense is a Class A or Class B felony and

Text: the defendant is an individual; (2) the offense is an offense for which probation has been expressly precluded; or 2 Section 2252(b) provides in relevant part: “Whoever violates . . . subsection (a) . . . shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years . . .” 10932 UNITED STATES v. MUELLER (3) the defendant is sentenced at the same time to a term of imprisonment for the same or a different offense that is not a petty offense. The way the probation statute is written does suggest, as Mueller argues, that in all other circumstances not listed, probation is available. The government acknowledges that the first and third limitations in the probation statute do not apply to Mueller or his offense: the offense is not a Class A or Class B felony, and Mueller was not necessarily going to be sentenced at the same time to a term of imprisonment. The harder question here is whether Mueller was convicted of “an offense for which probation has been expressly precluded.” We conclude that the answer to that question is yes, and thus that Mueller is not eligible for a sentence of probation as an alternative to the five-year minimum term of imprisonment.