United States v. Cassius L. Chinske

Cassius Chinske pleaded guilty to maintaining a residence for the cultivation of marijuana, a class C felony. The court sentenced him to 15 months imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release. The court also ordered him to pay a fine of $2,760 to cover the cost of his supervised release. He appeals the term of supervised release and the fine.

I

Chinske argues that the Sentencing Guidelines, which impose a mandatory term of supervised release, conflict with the Sentencing Reform Act, which permits an optional term. U.S.S.G. §§ 5D1.1 and 5D1.2; 18 U.S.C. § 3583 (a). He contends that this alleged inconsistency renders these Guidelines invalid because 28 U.S.C. § 994 (b) requires that all Guidelines be consistent with Title 18, United States Code.

The statute allows a court to include as part of the sentence a requirement that the defendant be placed on a term of supervised release. 18 U.S.C. § 3583 (a). The maximum term for a defendant convicted of a Class C or D felony is three years. 18 U.S.C. § 3583 (b)(2).

Under the Guidelines, the court must order a term of supervised release to follow imprisonment when it sentences a defendant to more than one year of…