United States v. Benjamin Higgerson
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed
The Eighth Circuit held that the district court did not impose a substantively unreasonable sentence when it revoked Benjamin Higgerson’s supervised release and sentenced him to 18 months’ imprisonment and nine years of supervised release. Relying on the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Esteras v. United States, the panel concluded that although § 3553(a)(2)(A) (promoting respect for the law) is excluded from revocation-sentencing factors, the district court here did not plainly err or give the factor significant weight, and the sentence was otherwise reasonable.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether, in a supervised-release revocation sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e), a district court may consider the § 3553(a)(2)(A) factor of "promoting respect for the law / providing just punishment."
Circuit Positions
§ 3553(a)(2)(A) may be considered in revocation sentencing (full discretion).
§ 3553(a)(2)(A) may not be considered at all.
§ 3553(a)(2)(A) may be referenced but cannot receive dominant or significant weight.
Conflict Summary
Prior to the Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in Esteras, circuits disagreed over the relevance of § 3553(a)(2)(A) at revocation: some allowed consideration of the factor, some barred it entirely, and others permitted only minimal or non-dominant reliance. Esteras resolved the conflict by holding the factor may not be considered at all, but the opinion expressly recounts the preceding split.