UNITED STATES v. MONIZ (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Richard K. MONIZ, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 21-10029

Decided: July 28, 2021

Before: SCHROEDER, SILVERMAN, and MURGUIA, Circuit Judges.

Darren Ching, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Marion Percell, Esquire, Assistant U.S. Attorney, DOJ - Office of the US Attorney, Honolulu, HI, for Plaintiff-Appellee. Melinda Yamaga, FPDHI - Federal Public Defender's Office, Honolulu, HI, for Defendant-Appellant.

MEMORANDUM **

Richard K. Moniz appeals from the district court's judgment and challenges the 12-month sentence imposed upon revocation of supervised release. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

Moniz contends that the district court violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment by relying in part on his mental illness in selecting the 12-month sentence. We review de novo whether a sentence violates the Eighth Amendment. See United States v. Meiners, 485 F.3d 1211, 1212 (9th Cir. 2007). The record does not support Moniz's claim that the district court imposed the within-Guidelines sentence due to his mental illness. Rather, the district court appropriately considered Moniz's performance on supervised release and imposed the sentence as a sanction for his significant breach of the court's trust. See United States v. Simtob, 485 F.3d 1058, 1062 (9th Cir. 2007).

AFFIRMED.

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