Case Explained: USA V. RYAN

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Filed: 2026-06-29 Docket: 3:23-cr-00291-WHO-1 The Ninth Circuit affirmed the 81-month sentence imposed on Lamar Nolan Ryan for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The court reviewed the district court’s denial of Ryan’s request for a continuance to obtain a mental health evaluation under an abuse of discretion standard. The panel held that the district court did not abuse its discretion because the evaluation was unnecessary to assess Ryan’s rehabilitative efforts, which the lower court had already described favorably in imposing a sentence within the lowered Guidelines range rather than varying upward as requested by the government. Consequently, the appellate court found no evidence that a continuance would have served a useful purpose or that the denial prejudiced Ryan, leaving the district court’s judgment and sentence in effect. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.