United States v. Jones ( 2016 )

FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS September 14, 2016
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
No. 15-3166
v. (D.C. No. 2:07-CR-20064-KHV-JPO-1)
(D. Kan.)
DURELL JONES,
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before TYMKOVICH, Chief Judge, BRISCOE and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination
of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is,
therefore, submitted without oral argument.
Durell Jones appeals from the sentence imposed after his supervised release
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited,
however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th
Cir. R. 32.1.
was revoked. He argues that (1) the district court procedurally and substantively
erred by imposing his revocation sentence consecutive to, rather than concurrent
with, his state prison sentence arising from the same offenses as his revocation,
and (2) the district court’s imposition of a ten-year additional term of supervised
release was substantively unreasonable. Exercising jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C.
§ 3724(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.
I
Jones was serving a four-year term of supervised release when he
committed several state crimes in Colorado, including armed robberies, assault,
and leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase. For these new
offenses, he was sentenced to approximately twenty-six years of imprisonment by
the state court.
Prior to these crimes, Jones came before the district court on two occasions
for minor violations of his supervised release, but his release was not revoked.
After Jones’s new state convictions, the federal district court held a hearing to
determine whether to revoke Jones’s supervised release and to determine his
revocation sentence. Jones stipulated to the violations. The government argued
for a consecutive sentence at the top of the range calculated using the United
States Sentencing Guidelines, which was 24–30 months’ imprisonment. Jones
argued for a time-served sentence, or a sentence at the lower end of the
Guidelines range, to be served concurrent to his state sentence.
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The government argued that Jones’s sentence should run consecutively
because a provision of the Guidelines states:
Any term of imprisonment imposed upon the revocation of probation
or supervised release shall be ordered to be served consecutively to
any sentence of imprisonment that the defendant is serving, whether
or not the sentence of imprisonment being served resulted from the
conduct that is the basis of the revocation of probation or supervised
release.
U.S.S.G. § 7B1.3(f). The government also highlighted the nature of Jones’s
violations, characterizing them as “abscond[ing]” on a “violent crime spree.”
ROA Vol. 2 at 11. It argued that Jones’s violations were “the kind of violation
that is most severe,” and that a consecutive sentence at the high end of the
Guidelines range was necessary.
Jones argued that, notwithstanding U.S.S.G. § 7B1.3(f), the court should
exercise its discretion under 18 U.S.C. § 3584, which states:
[I]f a term of imprisonment is imposed on a defendant who is already
subject to an undischarged term of imprisonment, the terms may run
concurrently or consecutively . . . . Multiple terms of imprisonment
imposed at different times run consecutively unless the court orders
that the terms are to run concurrently. . . . The court, in determining
whether the terms imposed are to be ordered to run concurrently or
consecutively, shall consider . . . the factors set forth in [18 U.S.C. §]
3553(a).
18 U.S.C. § 3584(a) and (b). Jones further argued that a concurrent sentence was
more appropriate given the fact that he will be in his late fifties when discharged
from his state sentence, and that statistically, his risk of recidivism will be
relatively low.
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After discussing Jones’s arguments, the district court stated it “basically
agree[d] with the government’s position here, everything that [the government’s
attorney] just said.” ROA Vol. 2 at 18–25. It found Jones’s argument about his
age unpersuasive because “the history and characteristics of the defendant by the
time he’s released . . . are impossible to imagine,” and was instead persuaded by
the government’s argument that the court was “sentencing the person who is
standing here now.” Id. at 21, 24. It sentenced Jones to a consecutive thirty-
month term of imprisonment and, despite the government not asking for it, ten
years of additional supervised release. Jones does not challenge the length of the
custodial sentence, but challenges its consecutive imposition and the length of his
additional supervised release.
II
We review a district court’s decision to impose a consecutive sentence
rather than a concurrent one for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Hurlich,
293 F.3d 1223, 1230 (10th Cir. 2002). A district court abuses its discretion when
it makes the legal error of applying the Guidelines as mandatory, rather than
advisory. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007) (describing the
abuse-of-discretion review of sentences as including review for “significant
procedural error, such as . . . treating the Guidelines as mandatory”); United
States v. Lopez-Avila, 665 F.3d 1216, 1219 (10th Cir. 2011) (“An error of law is
per se an abuse of discretion.”). We will remand for resentencing only if the
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procedural errors were not harmless. United States v. Sanchez-Leon, 764 F.3d
1248, 1262 (10th Cir. 2014). A district court may also abuse its discretion by
imposing a substantively unreasonable sentence. A sentence is unreasonable if it
is “arbitrary, capricious, whimsical, or manifestly unreasonable” under the
circumstances. United States v. Damato, 672 F.3d 832, 838 (10th Cir. 2012)
(quoting United States v. Lewis, 594 F.3d 1270, 1277 (10th Cir. 2010)).
A. Procedural and Substantive Reasonableness of Imposing Consecutive
Sentence
Jones first argues that the district court procedurally erred by treating
U.S.S.G. § 7B1.3(f) as mandatory, and did not exercise its discretion under 18
U.S.C. § 3584. The government agrees, as it must, that treating U.S.S.G.
§ 7B1.3(f) as mandatory rather than advisory constitutes procedural error. See
Gall, 552 U.S. at 51; United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005); United States
v. Rodriguez-Quintanilla, 442 F.3d 1254, 1256 (10th Cir. 2006). But the district
court did not treat § 7B1.3(f) as mandatory here. Instead, it exercised its
discretion under 18 U.S.C. § 3584. During the hearing, the court twice noted the
“non-binding” nature of the Guidelines generally. ROA Vol. 2 at 7, 18. Its
agreement with “everything the government just said” referred to a discussion that
included not only § 7B1.3(f), but also the nature of Jones’s violations, his
personal characteristics, what types of rehabilitation will or will not be available
to him, and Jones’s arguments for a lower-end concurrent sentence. The
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discussion between the court and Jones’s counsel demonstrates that the court was
aware of its discretion and considered Jones’s arguments regarding the 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a) factors on their merits. Further, the court stated that it could not “think
of any logical reason or legal reason why this case would be required to run
concurrently or why it should run concurrently,” indicating it was exercising
discretion rather than proceeding under a perceived mandate. Id. at 20 (emphasis
added). Its rejection of Jones’s arguments did not reflect any reliance on
§ 7B1.3(f) as mandatory. Therefore, the district court did not commit the
procedural error Jones alleges.
In addition to procedural error, Jones argues that imposing his revocation
imprisonment consecutive to his twenty-six-year Colorado sentence was
substantively unreasonable. He argues that it serves no deterrent or public safety
purpose because of Jones’s “extreme age” at the time his revocation sentence will
begin. Aplt. Br. at 6–7. This argument amounts to a generalized statement that
individuals of a certain age should be immune from lengthy or consecutive
incarceration. Jones does not support this argument with any authority, nor does
he describe precisely how he, as an individual rather than a demographic, will be
unlikely to recidivate. Nor does he tie this argument to the nature of his
violations or his specific case. The district court saw this argument as basically
asserting that Jones should not serve any additional time for his revocation
because his state sentence was so long. See ROA Vol. 2 at 23. The court’s
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decision to impose a consecutive sentence, despite Jones’s arguments for a
concurrent sentence, was not an abuse of discretion.
B. Substantive Reasonableness of Imposing Additional Ten Years of
Supervised Release
Jones next argues that the district court was substantively unreasonable to
impose an additional ten years of supervised release to follow a combined state
and federal term of twenty-eight years of imprisonment. First, he argues that he
will pose little to no risk of recidivism by the time his supervised release begins
because of his age. But Jones’s briefing provides no evidence of reduced
recidivism rates other than counsel’s unsupported statements at the revocation
hearing. And, as with his argument regarding consecutive sentencing, Jones fails
to relate the general recidivism rate of people in their late fifties to his individual
characteristics or circumstances. Nor does Jones make an argument to overcome
the serious nature of his violations. The district court reasonably concluded “that
a longer term of supervised release is necessary in this case, given Jones’s poor
performance on supervised release earlier,” and that he had “to go a ways further
to show that [he is] prepared to be a law-abiding and productive citizen.” ROA
Vol. 2 at 27.
Second, Jones argues that a ten-year term of supervised release is
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manifestly unreasonable because it sets him up to fail. 1 We have previously
recognized that, in the abstract, the cycle of re-imposing supervised release after
revocation can result in a “spectre” of a “life of imprisonment” for supervisees.
United States v. Hernandez, 655 F.3d 1193, 1198 (10th Cir. 2011)
(acknowledging that “other defendants,” although not the defendant in that case,
“face the real prospect of life in prison for revocation after revocation, all for
original convictions carrying relatively brief maximum prison terms”). Although
the length of supervised release imposed here is longer than most, it is not
singular or shocking in its length. See e.g., United States v. Jones, 818 F.3d
1091, 1097 (10th Cir. 2016) (although not at issue, we noted that the defendant
had been sentenced to an additional ten years’ supervised release after his release
was revoked for committing new crimes); United States v. Rausch, 638 F.3d
1296, 1302–03 (10th Cir. 2011) (district court did not plainly err in imposing, in
an initial sentence, a lifetime of supervised release in lieu of a lengthy prison
sentence). Because Jones has failed to point to any circumstances which render
1
Reasonableness is the only cap on supervised release in this case because
the upper boundary provided for in 18 U.S.C. § 3583(h) does not apply here. 21
U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(iii) (setting a minimum, but no maximum term
of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute more than five grams
of cocaine base); 18 U.S.C. § 3583(h) (limiting additional terms of supervised
release to “the term of supervised release authorized by statute for the offense
that resulted in the original term of supervised release, less any term of
imprisonment that was imposed upon revocation of supervised release”); United
States v. Hernandez, 655 F.3d 1193, 1198 (10th Cir. 2011).
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his sentence unreasonable in this case, we conclude the district court did not
abuse its discretion.
III
The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
Entered for the Court
Mary Beck Briscoe
Circuit Judge
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