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US v. Andrew Chafin — 4th Cir. (Sep 17, 2026)

No. 25-4521 Argued September 17, 2026 Published September 19, 2026

The Fourth Circuit hears United States v. Andrew Chafin. Police found Chafin with a gun, and he was later convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon. The district court sentenced him to eighteen months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Supervised release is court-ordered monitoring after prison; violating its conditions can lead to revocation and more imprisonment. After Chafin violated conditions of release, the district court revoked it and cited his breach of the court’s trust. Chapter Seven of the Sentencing Guidelines describes revocation as chiefly sanctioning that breach. But the Supreme Court’s Esteras decision says Section 3583(e) excludes retribution for the original crime. This appeal asks whether Esteras also makes breach of trust impermissible and therefore displaces the Fourth Circuit’s Lewis precedent.

US v. Andrew Chafin (No. 25-4521) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, argued September 17, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/OAarchive/mp3/25-4521-20260917.mp3
Argument listing — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit:https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/oral-argument/oral-argument-audio-files
Public briefs index — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit:https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/DataBriefs.aspx?CASENUM=25-4521
Appellate docket — Justia:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca4/25-4521
Related appellate docket identifying the shared issue — Justia:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca4/25-4613
Chafin certiorari petition — Supreme Court of the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25-5626/374307/20250910163949697_Chafin%20cert%20petition.pdf
Chafin appendix, including lower-court orders — Supreme Court of the United States:https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25-5626/374307/20250910164000726_Chafin%20cert%20appendix.pdf
Chafin Supreme Court docket:https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-5626.html
Esteras v. United States — Supreme Court opinion:https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-7483_6k4c.pdf
United States v. Lewis — Fourth Circuit opinion:https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/224291.P.pdf
18 U.S.C. § 3583 — U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel:https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title18-section3583
Sentencing Guidelines, Chapter Seven — U.S. Sentencing Commission:https://www.ussc.gov/guidelines/2025-guidelines-manual/annotated-2025-chapter-7

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