US v. John Lewandowski

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 5:13-cr-00330-D-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999613799].. [14-4580]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-4580

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JOHN LOUIS LEWANDOWSKI,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.
James C. Dever III,
Chief District Judge. (5:13-cr-00330-D-1)

Submitted:

June 26, 2015

Decided:

July 2, 2015

Before WILKINSON, MOTZ, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Thomas P. McNamara, Federal Public Defender, Stephen C. Gordon,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
Appellant.
Thomas G. Walker, United States Attorney, Jennifer
P. May-Parker, Kristine L. Fritz, Assistant United States
Attorneys, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
John

Louis

Lewandowski

appeals

the

within-Guidelines

sentence imposed by the district court after he pled guilty to
receipt

of

child

§ 2252(a)(2)

pornography,

(2012),

and

in

possession

violation
of

of

child

that

unreasonable.

his

97-month

sentence

U.S.C.

pornography,

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B) (2012).
contends

18

in

On appeal, he

is

substantively

For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

We review a criminal sentence for reasonableness using “a
deferential

abuse-of-discretion

standard.”

States, 552 U.S. 38, 41 (2007).
procedural

error,

we

Gall

v.

United

Because Lewandowski asserts no

consider

whether

the

sentence

is

substantively reasonable, “tak[ing] into account the totality of
the

circumstances”

court’s decision.

and

giving

due

Id. at 51.

deference

to

the

district

We presume on appeal that a

sentence within or below a properly calculated Guidelines range
is substantively reasonable.

United States v. Louthian, 756

F.3d 295, 306 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 421 (2014);
see United States v. Strieper, 666 F.3d 288, 295-96 (4th Cir.
2012)

(rejecting

argument

that

presumption

of

reasonableness

should not apply to sentences for child pornography offenses).
Lewandowski bears the burden of rebutting this presumption “by
showing that the sentence is unreasonable when measured against
the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors.”
2

Louthian, 756 F.3d at 306.

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Here,

the

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district

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court

reasonably

determined

that

a

sentence of 97 months was appropriate based on its thorough,
individualized assessment of Lewandowski’s case in light of his
arguments and the § 3553(a) factors.

Based on the totality of

the circumstances, we conclude that the district court did not
abuse its discretion in imposing the chosen sentence.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment.
dispense

with

contentions

are

oral

argument

adequately

because

presented

in

the
the

facts

We

and

legal

materials

before

this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

3