United States v. Alvarez-Nunez

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

In this case, the sentencing court confused the message with the messenger. That led the court to blur the line between the artistic expression of a musical performer and that performer’s state of mind qua criminal defendant. Concluding, as we do, that this line-blurring undermined the plausibility of the court’s sentencing rationale (and, thus, rendered the sentence substantively unreasonable), we vacate and remand for resentencing.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant-appellant Neftalí Alvarez-Nú-ñez was arrested in March of 2015. The arrest took place after police observed him…