Court Acknowledges Child Porn Guideline Criticisms, But Holds 260-year Sentence Was Not Unreasonable

U.S. v. Grigsby, 2014 WL 1424547 (4/15/14) (Kan.) (Published) - The 10th relates the criticisms of the child pornography guidelines without taking a position on those criticisms. It did note the Sentencing Commission's Report on the child porn guidelines essentially endorsed the 2d Circuit's view in Dorvee that the non-production sentencing scheme needs to better reflect a growing body of knowledge about the offense and better account for degrees of culpability and dangerousness. The 10th acknowledges that authorities Mr. Grigsby cited say district courts should carefully apply the guidelines and be mindful of their discretion under § 3553(a). The 10th even said maybe the porn production guidelines, which applied in this case, are also defective. But none of that means any application of the child porn guidelines results in an unreasonable sentence. Even if the Commission did not use an empirical approach for a guideline, that does not make a sentence within the guideline range unreasonable. The 10th rejects a categorical challenge to the child porn guidelines and affirms a 260-year sentence, the statutory maximum.