United States v. Robert Longee

MEMORANDUM

On May 28, 2009, the United States charged Robert Glenn Longee with aggravated sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153 (a) and 2241(a). Longee was accused of violently raping his mother-in-law, who was 63 years old at the time, and confined to a wheelchair. After a jury found Longee guilty, the district judge imposed a term of life imprisonment. Lon-gee appeals his sentence and the district court’s decision not to declare a mistrial.

We have jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm the district court.

The facts of this case are known to the parties. We do not repeat them.

I

Appellate review of sentencing decisions “is limited to determining whether they are ‘reasonable.’ ” Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 46 , 128 S.Ct. 586 , 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007). When conducting a review for “reasonableness,” courts of appeal consider all sentences “under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard.” Id. at 41 , 128 S.Ct. 586 . To determine substantive reasonableness, this court considers “the totality of the circumstances.” United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 993 (9th Cir.2008). A within-Guidelines sentence is not presumptively…