United States v. Tubens ( 2016 )

FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS April 5, 2016
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v. No. 15-4116
(D.C. No. 2:11-CR-00579-TC-1)
PETER ANTONIO TUBENS, (D. Utah)
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before GORSUCH, MURPHY, and PHILLIPS, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this court has
determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the
determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G).
Accordingly, the case is ordered submitted without oral argument.
Proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, Peter A. Tubens appeals the
district court’s denial of the Motion for Modification or Reduction of Sentence he
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the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.
brought pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). In 2013, Tubens was convicted of
possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance
containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C.
§ 841(a)(1). United States v. Tubens, 765 F.3d 1251, 1252 (10th Cir. 2014). On
direct appeal, Tubens challenged the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress
evidence obtained from his carry-on bag, id. at 1254, but did not challenge his
mandatory minimum sentence of 240 months’ imprisonment and did not challenge
his status as a career offender. 1 Tubens’s conviction was affirmed by this court.
Id. at 1257.
On January 28, 2015, Tubens filed the § 3582(c)(2) motion that is the
subject of this appeal. In his motion, Tubens argued his sentence should be
modified based on changes made to the United States Sentencing Guidelines by
Amendment 782. See USSG app. C, Amend. 782 (reducing by two levels the base
offense levels of crimes involving many of the controlled substances listed in the
Guidelines’ Drug Quantity Table). The district court denied Tubens’s motion.
We review the denial of a § 3582(c)(2) motion for abuse of discretion.
United States v. Sharkey, 543 F.3d 1236, 1238 (10th Cir. 2008). A district court,
however, does not have unlimited jurisdiction to modify a defendant’s sentence.
Rather, a district court may only modify a sentence when specifically authorized
1
To the extent Tubens raises a challenge to his status as a career offender
under USSG § 4B1.1, that argument is both (1) waived because it was not raised
on direct appeal and (2) is not cognizable in a § 3582(c)(2) motion.
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to do so by Congress. United States v. Blackwell, 81 F.3d 945, 947 (10th Cir.
1996). “The scope of a district court’s authority in a [ ]sentencing [modification]
proceeding under § 3582(c)(2) is a question of law that we review de novo.”
United States v. Rhodes, 549 F.3d 833, 837 (10th Cir. 2008).
“Under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), a court may reduce a previously imposed
sentence if the Sentencing Commission has lowered the applicable sentencing
range and ‘such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued
by the Sentencing Commission.’” United States v. Torres-Aquino, 334 F.3d 939,
940 (10th Cir. 2003). The Sentencing Commission’s policy statement on reducing
sentences based on amendments to the Guidelines is clear. It disallows reductions
when “an amendment does not have the effect of lowering the defendant’s
applicable guideline range because of the operation of another guideline or
statutory provision (e.g., a statutory mandatory minimum term of
imprisonment.).” USSG § 1B1.10 cmt. n.1(A). Thus, in the situation where a
defendant’s sentence is cabined by a statutory mandatory minimum term of
imprisonment, a district court lacks jurisdiction to grant the defendant’s § 3582
motion. Such is the case here.
The twenty-year sentence Tubens received is the statutory mandatory
minimum set out in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(viii) for the crime of conviction.
That statutory minimum was not affected by Amendment 782 and, thus, the
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Amendment does not have the effect of lowering Tubens’s sentencing range.
Accordingly, the district court lacked jurisdiction to modify his sentence.
We have reviewed the record, the appellate briefs, and the applicable law
and conclude the district court did not err in ruling Tubens was not eligible for a
sentence reduction pursuant to § 3582(c)(2). Dismissal for lack of jurisdiction
rather than denial on the merits, however, was the appropriate disposition of
Tubens’s § 3582(c)(2) motion. See United States v. Graham, 704 F.3d 1275,
1279 (10th Cir. 2013). We therefore remand the matter to the district court with
instructions to vacate the order denying the motion and enter a new order
dismissing Tubens’s § 3582(c)(2) motion for lack of jurisdiction. Tubens’s
motion to file a reply brief out of time is granted.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
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