United States of America v. Andrew Lee Hawkins

24-2946Court of Appeals for the Eighth CircuitAug 21, 2026

Full text

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 26-1159
___________________________
United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Andrew Lee Hawkins
Defendant - Appellant
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa - Central
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Submitted: August 3, 2026
Filed: August 6, 2026
[Unpublished]
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Before GRASZ, ERICKSON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Andrew Hawkins received a 300-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to
producing child pornography. See 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a), (e). An Anders brief
suggests that the sentence is substantively unreasonable. See Anders v. California,
386 U.S. 738 (1967).

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We conclude otherwise. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461–
62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc) (reviewing for an abuse of discretion). The record
establishes that the district court1 sufficiently considered the statutory sentencing
factors, see 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and did not rely on an improper factor or commit a
clear error of judgment. See United States v. McDaniels, 19 F.4th 1065, 1067 (8th
Cir. 2021) (per curiam) (explaining that the district court has “latitude to weigh the
relevant sentencing factors . . . differently than a defendant would have preferred”
(citation omitted)).
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.
______________________________
1 The Honorable Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger, United States District Judge for
the Southern District of Iowa.

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