United States v. Wilson , 442 F. App'x 370 ( 2011 )


Menu:
  •                                                                      FILED
    United States Court of Appeals
    Tenth Circuit
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS October 4, 2011
    TENTH CIRCUIT              Elisabeth A. Shumaker
    Clerk of Court
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    No. 11-4019
    v.
    (D.C. No. 2:10-CR-00528-CW-1)
    (D. Utah)
    EVERETT JAY WILSON,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
    Before LUCERO, ANDERSON, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges.
    Everett Jay Wilson pleaded guilty to escape from custody in violation of 
    18 U.S.C. § 751
    (a) and was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment followed by 36
    months supervised release. Mr. Wilson now appeals. His attorney, however, has
    filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 
    386 U.S. 738
     (1967), advising us
    that he discerns no colorable basis for an appeal and seeking leave to withdraw.
    *
    After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this panel has
    determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the
    determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2) and 10th Cir. R.
    34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. 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    order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the doctrines of law of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.
    Anders authorizes a defendant’s lawyer to seek permission to withdraw
    from an appeal if, “after a conscientious examination,” the lawyer finds the
    appeal “wholly frivolous.” 
    Id. at 744
    . Invoking Anders requires the lawyer to
    “submit a brief to the client and the appellate court indicating any potential
    appealable issues based on the record.” United States v. Calderon, 
    428 F.3d 928
    ,
    930 (10th Cir. 2005) (citing Anders, 
    386 U.S. at 744
    ). The client may then
    submit his own arguments for the court’s consideration. Calderon, 
    428 F.3d at 930
    . And we must then “conduct a full examination of the record to determine
    whether [the] defendant’s claims are wholly frivolous.” 
    Id.
     If they are, we may
    grant counsel’s motion to withdraw and dismiss the appeal. 
    Id.
    In his Anders brief, Mr. Wilson’s counsel identifies only one potential basis
    for an appeal—that Mr. Wilson’s sentence was excessive—but concludes that this
    argument is without merit. Despite being afforded an opportunity to do so, Mr.
    Wilson has not submitted any materials disputing this analysis or identifying any
    other arguments he would like to pursue. Similarly, the government has indicated
    its intent not to respond to the Anders brief. After our own independent review of
    the record, we agree with Mr. Wilson’s counsel that any appeal in this case would
    be fruitless.
    We review a district court’s sentencing decision for both procedural and
    substantive reasonableness. United States v. Haley, 
    529 F.3d 1308
    , 1311 (10th
    Cir. 2008). A sentence is procedurally unreasonable “if the district court
    -2-
    incorrectly calculates or fails to calculate the Guidelines sentence, treats the
    Guidelines as mandatory, fails to consider the [18 U.S.C.] § 3553(a) factors,
    relies on clearly erroneous facts, or inadequately explains the sentence.” Id.
    Because Mr. Wilson didn’t object to the procedural reasonableness of his sentence
    at the time of sentencing, our review is for plain error. See United States v. Ruiz-
    Terrazas, 
    477 F.3d 1196
    , 1199 (10th Cir. 2007). Here, there is no indication that
    the district court committed any procedural error. While the court didn’t
    explicitly cite the § 3553(a) factors, the record reveals that the court explained its
    sentence by discussing Mr. Wilson’s history and characteristics, the seriousness
    of the offense, the guidelines range, and the need to promote respect for the law.
    This explanation was sufficient under our precedents. See id. at 1202 (“[A]
    specific discussion of Section 3553(a) factors is not required for sentences falling
    within the ranges suggested by the Guidelines.”). Accordingly, we cannot find
    that Mr. Wilson’s sentence was procedurally unreasonable.
    Neither can we say that Mr. Wilson’s sentence is substantively
    unreasonable. This sentence is within Mr. Wilson’s properly-calculated
    guidelines range, so it is entitled to a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness on
    appeal. See United States v. Kristl, 
    437 F.3d 1050
    , 1054 (10th Cir. 2006); see
    also Rita v. United States, 
    551 U.S. 338
    , 347-51 (2007). We review sentences for
    substantive reasonableness under an abuse of discretion standard and can reverse
    only if the sentence is “arbitrary, capricious, whimsical, or manifestly
    -3-
    unreasonable.” Haley, 
    529 F.3d at 1311
    . In sentencing Mr. Wilson to 21 months
    imprisonment, the district court placed considerable weight on Mr. Wilson’s high
    criminal history score and the fact that this was his second conviction for escape.
    The court explained that Mr. Wilson “has repeatedly demonstrated a disregard for
    authority, a disregard for the law, and a disregard for himself.” ROA vol. 2 at 9.
    “[T]o be one month from ending his sentence and then to walk out by showing the
    officer who is confronting him the peace sign indicates that this defendant still
    has not learned his lesson.” 
    Id.
     In light of these considerations, we cannot say
    that the district court’s sentencing decision was an abuse of its considerable
    discretion.
    Counsel’s motion to withdraw is granted and this appeal is dismissed.
    ENTERED FOR THE COURT
    Neil M. Gorsuch
    Circuit Judge
    -4-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 11-4019

Citation Numbers: 442 F. App'x 370

Judges: Lucero, Anderson, Gorsuch

Filed Date: 10/4/2011

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/5/2024