U.S. v. Jones

Dist. Ct. erred in sentencing defendant to 60-month term of incarceration, after finding that defendant had violated four terms of his supervised release, including his failure to participate in either sex offender or mental health treatments, as well as violation of Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act (ISORA) and possession of controlled substance. While applicable guideline for said violations was 21-to-27 months of incarceration, Dist. Ct. provided inadequate explanation for imposing instant sentence, where Dist. Ct. did not: (1) take into account sentencing guidelines policy statements; (2) mention applicable factors under 28 USC sec. 3553(a); or (3) provide detailed justification for instant substantial upward departure, outside of single reference to reasons advanced by Probation Service. Ct., though, rejected defendant’s claim that his counsel was ineffective for failing to argue that ISORA did not require him to register his daughter’s cellphone, which formed basis of instant violation, where defendant had initially admitted that cellphone was his, and where counsel could therefore argue for leniency arising out of said admission.