US v. Lozoya, No. 09-3870

Manslaughter Sentences Affirmed

In US v. Lozoya, No. 09-3870, the court affirmed defendants' voluntary manslaughter sentences where 1) simply because the district court weighed the relevant factors more heavily than defendants would prefer did not mean the district court abused its discretion; and 2) the government's opinion of the appropriate sentence in this case did not prevent the district court from making its own determination under section 3553(a).

As the court wrote:  "Octavio Lozoya, Jr., and Eduardo Galarza-Payan pled guilty to voluntary
manslaughter for their roles in the death of Rigoberto Lopez-Alvaredo. The district court sentenced each defendant to the statutory maximum of 180 months imprisonment. Lozoya and Galarza-Payan appeal, contending the sentences imposed were substantively unreasonable. We affirm."

Related Resources

• Read the Eighth Circuit's Decision in US v. Lozoya, No. 09-3870