A federal appeals court on Monday vacated a 30-day prison sentence for a neighbor of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) who assaulted him in 2017, ruling it was overly lenient and ordering a resentencing.
In a 16-page opinion, Judge Jane B. Stranch of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, writes that the lower court where Rene Boucher pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress had “no compelling justification” for sentencing him far below federal guidelines.
“Federal defendants with a criminal history category of I [the lowest possible level] who were convicted of assault received an average sentence of 26 months’ imprisonment and a median sentence of 21 months,” the ruling states, citing data. “We therefore VACATE Boucher’s sentence and REMAND for resentencing.”
Patrick Clancy in his own words: Top takeaways from grieving father’s first interview
Lindsay Clancy holdout juror makes new promise as lawyer warns of public attacks
Breaking: ICE Shooting Rocks Austin – Protesters Clash with Officers, Democrats Condemn Agency with Few Facts Available
ICE shooting rocks Austin as Democrat demands bodycam video, independent probe
Massachusetts’ plan to offer postpartum screening home visits sparks online debate
Cops flush homecoming prank plans after seizing 650 toilet paper rolls in ‘Operation Clean Sweep’
Trump to meet with Mamdani in New York amid high-stakes midterm push
White House reporter talks about Trump banning MS Now, Politico, and CNN
It’s Not All Doom and Gloom: AI Added 1 Million US Jobs, 5 for Every 1 Cut
Politicians Forgot Backup Power When They Pushed Clean Power in 13 States: Now Electric Bills Are Skyrocketing
True Crime-Obsessed Crazies Are Making the Clancy Holdout Juror Family’s Life a Living Hell
Why Trump zeroed in on Greenland, the world’s largest island, mostly covered in ice — in 3 charts
Data Analysis Proves Radical Communists Aren’t the Fringe: Majority of Dems Are DSA
Burglar Breaks Glass, Alerts Armed Alabama Homeowner – It’s Last Mistake He Ever Made
Mysterious ‘Anonymous Donor’ Paid for Cremation of Trump’s Would-Be Assassin
The opinion offers examples of other 30-day sentences for assaulting members of Congress and notes that the damage paled in comparison to that of Boucher, who broke five of Paul’s ribs and caused injuries that later required part of Paul’s lung to be removed.
For example, in 1981, two defendants were each sentenced to 30 days for throwing eggs at a congressman without hitting him, while a third defendant was sentenced to 15 days for spitting on a senator at an airport, writes Stranch, an Obama appointee.
“These prison terms were similar to Boucher’s, but the offense conduct was quite different—as the Government argues, ‘it is difficult to understand why a tackle resulting in long-term serious injuries warrants the same sentence as an egg toss or spit in the face,’” the ruling states.
Patrick Clancy in his own words: Top takeaways from grieving father’s first interview
Lindsay Clancy holdout juror makes new promise as lawyer warns of public attacks
Breaking: ICE Shooting Rocks Austin – Protesters Clash with Officers, Democrats Condemn Agency with Few Facts Available
ICE shooting rocks Austin as Democrat demands bodycam video, independent probe
Massachusetts’ plan to offer postpartum screening home visits sparks online debate
Cops flush homecoming prank plans after seizing 650 toilet paper rolls in ‘Operation Clean Sweep’
Trump to meet with Mamdani in New York amid high-stakes midterm push
White House reporter talks about Trump banning MS Now, Politico, and CNN
It’s Not All Doom and Gloom: AI Added 1 Million US Jobs, 5 for Every 1 Cut
Politicians Forgot Backup Power When They Pushed Clean Power in 13 States: Now Electric Bills Are Skyrocketing
True Crime-Obsessed Crazies Are Making the Clancy Holdout Juror Family’s Life a Living Hell
Why Trump zeroed in on Greenland, the world’s largest island, mostly covered in ice — in 3 charts
Data Analysis Proves Radical Communists Aren’t the Fringe: Majority of Dems Are DSA
Burglar Breaks Glass, Alerts Armed Alabama Homeowner – It’s Last Mistake He Ever Made
Mysterious ‘Anonymous Donor’ Paid for Cremation of Trump’s Would-Be Assassin
However, the ruling adds that “while that is true, those three cases occurred roughly 40 years ago, before the Sentencing Commission or the Guidelines even existed. Their age and limited number make them less helpful to our analysis.”
More recent cases involving assaults on federal officers involve significantly longer sentences, such as a 2015 sentence of 24 months for a defendant who pushed a door into the arm of a government doctor and a 2014 case in which the defendant was given 21 months for bloodying a customs officer’s nose and ear.
Story cited here.
