Holguin-Hernandez v. United States

Holguin-Hernandez v. United States was a United States Supreme Court case.

Case description
Holguin-Hernandez was convicted of drug charges and sentenced to 60 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release. The government requested that an additional sentence of 12 to 18 months in prison be imposed for violation of the conditions of the previous term. The district court accepted the request and imposed an additional 12-month sentence. The defendant appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and argued that the sentence was unreasonable as it was greater than the necessary sentence to accomplish its goals. The Court of Appeals found that he could not argue it was unreasonable because he didn't argue that before the District Court. Before the Supreme Court of the United States, the court ruled that the sentence imposed was "unreasonably long" and that the Federal Sentencing Guidelines were not mandatory for judges to follow.