A federal appeals court has vacated the sentence of Rene Boucher, the neighbor convicted of attacking U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
In a ruling issued on Monday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said Boucher’s 30-day punishment was so far outside the 21-to-27 month sentencing guidelines that he must be re-sentenced.
Senator Paul didn’t appeal the sentencing. Instead, it was federal prosecutors who had sought 21 months.
The appeals court took no position on an appropriate sentence, saying the district court judge retains "ample discretion."
Boucher pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani, a special judge from Michigan, after Kentucky's federal judges recused themselves from the case.
Boucher, a retired anesthesiologist, admitted to attacking Paul outside his Bowling Green home in November 2017 over a yard dispute.
The attack broke several of Paul's ribs and the Republican lawmaker recently underwent lung surgery, which he said stemmed from the attack.
Sen. Paul, so far, hasn’t issued a statement on the ruling.
