United States v. Swarner: Limits on Assimilated Supervised Release

This episode details a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding the sentencing of Keisha Lyn Swarner for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of minors on a federal enclave. Although Swarner was convicted under the Assimilative Crimes Act, which incorporates Texas state law into the federal system, the court focused on whether her supervised release term was calculated correctly. The district court originally imposed thirty years of supervision by applying a specific enhancement intended for enumerated federal sex offenses. However, the appellate court ruled that because Swarner’s specific offense was not explicitly listed in that federal statute, the statutory maximum for her supervised release must be limited to five years. Consequently, the court vacated the original supervision sentence and remanded the case for resentencing within the legal limits of the general federal guidelines.