United States of America v. Ashley Marie Butler

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 23-1438
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Ashley Marie Butler
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa
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Submitted: July 17, 2023
Filed: July 20, 2023
[Unpublished]
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Before GRUENDER, BENTON, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Ashley Butler appeals the sentence the district court1 imposed after she pled
guilty to conspiracy to produce child pornography and child exploitation, pursuant
1The Honorable Stephanie M. Rose, Chief Judge, United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa.

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to a written plea agreement. Her counsel has moved to withdraw, and has filed a brief
under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), challenging the reasonableness of
the sentence.
Upon careful review, we conclude the district court did not impose a
substantively unreasonable sentence. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455,
461-62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc) (reviewing substantive reasonableness under a
deferential abuse-of-discretion standard; district court abuses its discretion when it
fails to consider a relevant factor, gives significant weight to an improper or
irrelevant fact, or commits a clear error of judgment in weighing appropriate factors);
see also United States v. McCauley, 715 F.3d 1119, 1127 (8th Cir. 2013) (noting
when a district court has varied below the United States Sentencing Guidelines
Manual range, it is “nearly inconceivable” that court abused its discretion by not
varying further).
We have also independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488
U.S. 75 (1988), and we find no non-frivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we
grant counsel’s motion to withdraw and affirm.
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