United States v. Johnson ( 1995 )

USCA1 Opinion

          May 9, 1995
                                [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

                            UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

                                 ____________________


        No. 93-2172 

                                    UNITED STATES,

                                      Appellee,

                                          v.

                                   VALERIE JOHNSON,

                                Defendant, Appellant.


                                 ____________________

                     APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

                           FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND


                    [Hon. Raymond J. Pettine, U.S. District Judge]
___________________

                                 ____________________

                                        Before

                                Torruella, Chief Judge,
___________
                           Selya and Lynch, Circuit Judges.
______________

                                 ____________________

            Thomas A. Grasso on brief for appellant.
________________
            Sheldon Whitehouse,  United States Attorney, and Zechariah Chafee,
__________________                               ________________
        Assistant United States Attorney, on brief for appellee.


                                 ____________________


                                 ____________________















                      Per Curiam.  Defendant Valerie Johnson was indicted
__________

            along  with  three others  on various  charges relating  to a

            conspiracy to  distribute  heroin.   She  entered a  plea  of

            guilty  to two counts of the six-count indictment.  The facts

            are not disputed.   Defendant argues  only that the  district

            court erred  in refusing  to grant  her a  downward departure

            based  on her status as  a first-time offender  and as single

            mother of three minor children.  See United States v. Rivera,
___ _____________    ______

            994 F.2d 942 (1st Cir. 1993).

                      Defendant acknowledges in her brief  on appeal that

            the  district court knew  that it had  the power to  effect a

            downward departure.  She could hardly maintain otherwise as a

            review of the  transcript of the  sentencing hearing  reveals

            that  the judge was well aware of, and correctly applied, the

            analysis for such departures set forth in Rivera.  See id. at
______   ___ ___

            949-50.   She argues simply  that the  district court  should

            have granted her a downward departure.

                      "[A]bsent  extraordinary circumstances,  a criminal

            defendant  cannot ground  an appeal  on the  district court's

            discretionary  decision not to undertake a downward departure

            from  the sentencing  range  indicated  by  the  guidelines."

            United  States v. Ruiz, 905 F.2d 499, 508-09 (1st Cir. 1990).
______________    ____

            No extraordinary circumstances exist here.  Thus, we have  no

            jurisdiction over this appeal.

                      This appeal is dismissed for want  of jurisdiction.

            See Local Rule 27.1.
___