DISCLAIMER:  The following unofficial case summaries are prepared by the clerk's office
                        as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
161593P.pdf   03/15/2017  United States  v.  Brian Boykin
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  16-1593
   U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Jefferson City   
   [PUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Riley, Chief Judge, and Smith and Kelly, 
   Circuit Judges] 
   Criminal case - Sentencing. Defendant's sentence, an upward variance, was 
   not substantively unreasonable; the court did not abuse its discretion in 
   finding defendant's multiple charges for heroin distribution to be a 
   substantial threat to the community despite the low volume of his sales; 
   the court did not give significant weight to an improper factor by 
   commenting on the "rush" associated with the lifestyle of drug dealing; 
   nor did the court err in considering the deterrent effect of the sentence. 
  
162745U.pdf   03/15/2017  United States  v.  Joe Willis
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  16-2745
   U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Little Rock   
   [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Riley, Chief Judge, and Gruender and 
   Kelly, Circuit Judges] 
   Criminal case - Sentencing. The district court's sentencing comments 
   showed it had considered the parties' arguments and had a reasoned basis 
   for its decision; the district court did not abuse its discretion by 
   varying upward to prevent defendant from receiving a lesser federal 
   sentence than similarly situated defendants; the court is not obligated to 
   give advance notice of its intent to impose an upward variance; argument 
   that defendant was entitled to pre-sentence custody credit was premature 
   as the Attorney General had not yet made a sentence credit determination.