News Opinons Politics

Court Vacates Sentence for Rand Paul’s Neighbor, Says it Was Too Lenient

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.”



House Democrats Move to Force Trump Admin to Release Epstein Files: ‘Put Up or Shut Up’
ICE removes airplane hijacker among 1,361 violent criminals in Houston sweep
Trump Announces He’s Giving ‘Serious Consideration’ to Cutting Rosie O’Donnell Off from the US
Pentagon presses Japan, Australia on role in possible Taiwan conflict
Suspect wanted in anti-ICE Texas ambush previously sued in past protest incident
Manhunt for ICE facility attack suspect reaches 10 days with reward money on the line
Trump DOJ Investigating Tim Walz’s Minnesota Over Alleged ‘Unlawful Action’ Against White Men
‘One more’: Senate Republicans eye tackling another reconciliation bill
Meet the Man Who Had Final Control of Biden’s Last Pardons – and It Wasn’t Joe Biden
Hochul hauls in big bucks amid lackluster poll numbers and calls to endorse Mamdani
Idaho four murder victim’s sister reveals ‘weird’ three-word text message hours before stabbings
Preppy party murder suspect’s lawyer says client’s testimony key to acquittal
Most want ‘Russiagate’ hoaxers prosecuted, ‘bigger’ than Watergate
One year on, Butler rally attendees say assassination attempt transformed Trump into a warrior
How Florida is helping the Trump administration round up illegal immigrants
See also  Microsoft applied to fill thousands of foreign worker positions in months before mass layoffs

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.


House Democrats Move to Force Trump Admin to Release Epstein Files: ‘Put Up or Shut Up’
ICE removes airplane hijacker among 1,361 violent criminals in Houston sweep
Trump Announces He’s Giving ‘Serious Consideration’ to Cutting Rosie O’Donnell Off from the US
Pentagon presses Japan, Australia on role in possible Taiwan conflict
Suspect wanted in anti-ICE Texas ambush previously sued in past protest incident
Manhunt for ICE facility attack suspect reaches 10 days with reward money on the line
Trump DOJ Investigating Tim Walz’s Minnesota Over Alleged ‘Unlawful Action’ Against White Men
‘One more’: Senate Republicans eye tackling another reconciliation bill
Meet the Man Who Had Final Control of Biden’s Last Pardons – and It Wasn’t Joe Biden
Hochul hauls in big bucks amid lackluster poll numbers and calls to endorse Mamdani
Idaho four murder victim’s sister reveals ‘weird’ three-word text message hours before stabbings
Preppy party murder suspect’s lawyer says client’s testimony key to acquittal
Most want ‘Russiagate’ hoaxers prosecuted, ‘bigger’ than Watergate
One year on, Butler rally attendees say assassination attempt transformed Trump into a warrior
How Florida is helping the Trump administration round up illegal immigrants
See also  Meet the Antifa cell charged with terrorism, attempted murder over ‘ambush’ at Texas ICE facility

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.

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter