United States of America v. Brandon Scott Holmes

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 23-1560
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United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Brandon Scott Holmes
Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa - Western
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Submitted: February 8, 2024
Filed: February 13, 2024
[Unpublished]
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Before BENTON, KELLY, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Brandon Holmes received a 295-month prison sentence and an order to pay
$60,000 in restitution after he pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child. See
18 U.S.C. § 2251(a), (e). In a pair of Anders briefs, Holmes’s counsel discusses two
issues: the lack of statutory authority for the restitution award and the substantive
reasonableness of the sentence. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).

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The restitution challenge has been waived, see United States v. Olano, 507
U.S. 725, 733 (1993), and the sentence is substantively reasonable, see United States
v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc) (reviewing the
reasonableness of a sentence for an abuse of discretion). The record establishes that
the district court1 sufficiently considered the statutory sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a), and did not rely on an improper factor or commit a clear error of
judgment. See Feemster, 572 F.3d at 461–62; see also United States v. Palkowitsch,
36 F.4th 796, 802–03 (8th Cir. 2022).
We have also independently reviewed the record and conclude that no other
non-frivolous issues exist. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83 (1988). We
accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel permission
to withdraw.
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1 The Honorable Stephanie M. Rose, Chief Judge, United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa.

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