United States v. Tracy Lamont Miles ( 2022 )


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  • USCA11 Case: 20-13174     Date Filed: 07/22/2022   Page: 1 of 18
    [DO NOT PUBLISH]
    In the
    United States Court of Appeals
    For the Eleventh Circuit
    ____________________
    No. 20-13174
    Non-Argument Calendar
    ____________________
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    versus
    TRACY LAMONT MILES,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    ____________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Southern District of Florida
    D.C. Docket No. 1:19-cr-20687-JEM-1
    ____________________
    USCA11 Case: 20-13174          Date Filed: 07/22/2022      Page: 2 of 18
    2                        Opinion of the Court                   20-13174
    Before WILSON, JILL PRYOR, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:
    Tracy Miles appeals his conviction for being a felon in pos-
    session of a firearm, in violation of 
    28 U.S.C. § 922
    (g)(1). There are
    three issues on appeal. First, Miles argues that the district court
    erred in finding a government witness credible at a hearing and
    denying his motion to suppress based on the witness’s testimony.
    Second, he contends that the cumulative effect of multiple errors
    at trial, including prosecutorial misconduct and evidentiary errors,
    deprived him of his right to a fair trial under the Sixth Amendment.
    Third, he asserts that his 108-month sentence must be vacated be-
    cause his prior conviction1 under 
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
    (1)(a)(2) did not
    involve a “controlled substance offense” for purposes of the career
    offender sentencing enhancement under § 4B1.2(b) of the Sentenc-
    ing Guidelines. After thorough review, we find no reversible error
    and therefore affirm.
    I.     BACKGROUND
    Because Miles raises challenges to three parts of his criminal
    proceedings, we discuss the relevant facts of each part in turn.
    1 Miles’s motion to supplement the record with a certified judgment of his
    prior Florida conviction is GRANTED.
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    20-13174               Opinion of the Court                        3
    A.     Suppression Hearing
    A grand jury indicted Miles on one count of possession of a
    firearm by a convicted felon. Before trial, he moved to suppress the
    firearm, arguing that his arrest and subsequent search were unlaw-
    ful under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. A magistrate
    judge conducted an evidentiary hearing at which Miami Dade Po-
    lice Department (“MDPD”) Detectives Jonathan Ortiz and Yuneski
    Arriola testified about the events leading to Miles’s arrest and the
    search that produced the firearm.
    Ortiz was in an unmarked vehicle on an undercover proac-
    tive detail near Broadway Park, an area officers knew to be high in
    crime, particularly violent crimes and drug offenses. Ortiz testified
    that, as he pulled up to the park, he saw an unknown individual
    approach Miles. Ortiz was around 150 feet away, but his view was
    unobstructed, and it was light outside. Ortiz observed the pair en-
    gage in a conversation. Then, the individual extended his hand to
    Miles while holding something. Miles took the item, put it in his
    front right pants pocket, and extended his hand—which was also
    holding an object—back toward the individual. The individual
    took the object and then walked away, and detectives never appre-
    hended the individual.
    Based on his training and experience, Ortiz concluded that
    he had witnessed a hand-to-hand drug transaction. Ortiz began to
    move closer to Miles, but Miles, with his eyes on Ortiz, stepped
    back and reached in a grabbing motion toward the right rear side
    of the waistband of his pants. Given Miles’s movements and Ortiz’s
    USCA11 Case: 20-13174            Date Filed: 07/22/2022          Page: 4 of 18
    4                          Opinion of the Court                      20-13174
    experience that people conducting drug transactions often carry
    firearms, Ortiz believed that Miles had a firearm in his waistband.
    After Miles removed his hand from his waistband, Ortiz called for
    backup and gave a description of Miles, adding that Miles was
    armed.
    Arriola, also in an unmarked vehicle, arrived quickly. He tes-
    tified that, as he approached the scene, Miles was holding the right
    rear side of his waistband as if he had a firearm. Arriola then turned
    on his vehicle’s lights to show that he was law enforcement, and
    Miles stopped clutching at his side. Arriola drew his firearm as he
    exited his vehicle and ordered Miles to put his hands up. Miles
    stepped back, looking behind himself. When he saw other officers
    arriving behind him, Miles stopped and put his hands up. Arriola
    then took Miles to the ground.
    Arriola conducted a pat-down and recovered a firearm from
    the right rear side of Miles’s waistband, the same area where Ortiz
    and Arriola had observed Miles reaching. After finding the firearm,
    the detectives also conducted a full search of Miles’s person, recov-
    ering currency from his front right pants pocket that was separated
    into “quick-count bundles,” consistent in the officers’ experience
    with hand-to-hand drug transactions. Doc. 46 at 27. 2 The detectives
    also recovered a wallet with cash in it from Miles’s left rear pocket.
    2 “Doc.” numbers refer to the district court’s docket entries.
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    20-13174                  Opinion of the Court                             5
    During the suppression hearing, defense counsel introduced
    photographs of the park. Ortiz testified that the photographs failed
    to depict the exact vantage point where he was positioned. He re-
    asserted that he had observed the hand-to-hand drug transaction
    clearly.
    Following the evidentiary hearing, the magistrate judge en-
    tered a report and recommendation (“R&R”), recommending that
    the district court deny the motion to suppress. The magistrate
    judge found Ortiz’s and Arriola’s testimony credible and, based on
    that testimony, found that the detectives had reasonable suspicion
    to detain Miles and pat him down.3 The magistrate judge also
    found that Ortiz could see clearly because he was 150 feet away
    from Miles with an unobstructed view and it was light outside. The
    magistrate judge noted the photographic evidence but rejected
    Miles’s argument—that Ortiz was not credible because it was im-
    possible for him to have seen a hand-to-hand transaction from his
    location—because Miles offered only speculation, with no support-
    ing evidence to counter Ortiz’s credible testimony. Over Miles’s
    objections, the district court adopted the R&R and denied the mo-
    tion to suppress.
    3 The magistrate judge did not address Miles’s argument about the legality of
    the subsequent search of his person. Miles did not pursue the argument fur-
    ther, however, in his objections to the R&R or by otherwise raising it to the
    district court.
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    6                         Opinion of the Court                    20-13174
    B.     Trial
    Miles proceeded to trial. During opening statements, the
    government explained that the detectives who arrested Miles were
    patrolling Broadway Park to prevent crime. Ortiz and Arriola tes-
    tified, reiterating their testimony from the suppression hearing.4
    During Ortiz’s direct examination, the prosecutor asked
    questions about the detectives’ actions and observations during
    their search of Miles’s person following his arrest. While examining
    Ortiz, the prosecutor several times used the pronoun “we” to refer
    to law enforcement.5 Ortiz responded to the questions on direct
    examination in a manner consistent with his testimony at the sup-
    pression hearing. Ortiz also testified that, after Miles was arrested
    and transported to the police station, Miles asked what he was be-
    ing charged with. After Ortiz advised him of the charge—being a
    felon in possession of a firearm—Miles responded that he “knew it
    was hot and he wasn’t looking for [serial] numbers.” Doc. 85 at 59.
    Ortiz testified that he believed the term “hot” to mean something
    that was contraband or illegal and understood Miles to be referring
    to the firearm recovered during the arrest.
    4 Two additional responding MDPD officers testified about Miles’s arrest.
    Both MDPD officers testified that they observed the firearm in Miles’s waist-
    band once he was arrested.
    5 For example, the prosecutor asked, “did we find any drugs on [Miles]?”
    Doc. 85 at 53-54.
    USCA11 Case: 20-13174         Date Filed: 07/22/2022      Page: 7 of 18
    20-13174                Opinion of the Court                           7
    Next, Arriola testified that he had conducted over 100 inves-
    tigations involving narcotics and had received training relating to
    narcotics. He testified that when he arrived at the park, he observed
    Miles holding the right rear side of his waistband. The prosecutor
    asked, “based on your training and experience, how common is it
    for firearms to be . . . concealed in this area of the body?” Id. at 126.
    Miles objected on the ground that the answer would call for expert
    opinion. The district court overruled the objection, stating, “[h]e’s
    an expert based on his experience and training. I’ll permit it.” Id.
    Arriola responded that, in his experience, it was very common for
    people to carry firearms in their waistbands. In testifying that he
    recognized a photograph of the firearm, he stated that he remem-
    bered that the serial number on the firearm found in Miles’s waist-
    band was scratched off.
    The prosecutor asked Arriola why people who sell drugs
    separate money into different pockets. Miles objected based on a
    lack of foundation and because the answer would call for specula-
    tion. The district court overruled the objection. Arriola answered
    that, based on his experience, individuals will split the money into
    multiple pockets “because either they’re separating the money for
    the different type of drugs that they have, or also if they’re working
    for somebody, the money that belongs to the owner of the drugs
    and the money that belongs to the individual selling the drugs.” Id.
    at 138. Arriola also testified that he understood the term “hot,” as
    used by Miles, to mean that the firearm was probably stolen or used
    in another crime.
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    8                       Opinion of the Court                 20-13174
    After the government rested, Miles did not offer any evi-
    dence. In closing argument, the prosecutor stated that the only is-
    sue in the case was whether Miles possessed a firearm and that ev-
    idence of the alleged drug transaction was only offered for context
    as to why the officers investigated Miles. In Miles’s closing argu-
    ment, he asserted that the officers who testified at the trial were
    lying about his possessing the firearm, implying that the officers
    planted the weapon on him. The prosecutor’s rebuttal refuted that
    assertion, and Miles objected several times throughout. The jury
    ultimately returned a guilty verdict.
    C.     Sentencing
    The U.S. Probation Office prepared a presentence investiga-
    tion report (“PSR”) to assist the district court in determining Miles’s
    sentence. The PSR calculated a base offense level of 24, under
    § 2K1.2(a)(2) of the Sentencing Guidelines, because Miles commit-
    ted the instant offense after sustaining two felony convictions for a
    crime of violence or a controlled substance offense. One of the two
    felony convictions was for a controlled substance offense: a prior
    conviction in Florida for “Possession with Intent to Sell, Manufac-
    ture, or Deliver a Controlled Substance (Cocaine).” But the certi-
    fied judgment for that offense, with which Miles supplements the
    record on appeal, shows that Miles was convicted under 
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
    (1)(a)(2), which does not include cocaine. Miles now argues
    that his prior conviction is not a “controlled substance offense” un-
    der the Sentencing Guidelines. But Miles failed to object to his base
    offense level calculation at sentencing. With a criminal history
    USCA11 Case: 20-13174         Date Filed: 07/22/2022     Page: 9 of 18
    20-13174                Opinion of the Court                          9
    category of III, Miles’s guideline range was 97 to 120 months’ im-
    prisonment. The district court sentenced Miles to 108 months’ im-
    prisonment. Miles now appeals.
    II.    LEGAL STANDARD
    We apply a mixed standard of review to a district court’s de-
    nial of a motion to suppress, reviewing the district court’s factual
    findings for clear error and its legal determinations de novo. United
    States v. McCullough, 
    851 F.3d 1194
    , 1199 (11th Cir. 2017). The ev-
    idence is viewed in the light most favorable to the party that pre-
    vailed on the motion. 
    Id.
    We ordinarily review claims of prosecutorial misconduct de
    novo. United States v. Merrill, 
    513 F.3d 1293
    , 1306 (11th Cir. 2008).
    But when a defendant does not object at trial to the prosecutor’s
    conduct, we review only for plain error. See 
    id.
     at 1306–07.
    To show plain error, the defendant must show that: (1) an
    error occurred; (2) the error was plain; and (3) the error affected his
    substantial rights. United States v. Smith, 
    459 F.3d 1276
    , 1283 (11th
    Cir. 2006). Further, if the first three conditions are met, we may
    correct a forfeited error only if the error seriously affected the fair-
    ness or integrity of judicial proceedings. 
    Id.
     “An error is not plain
    unless it is contrary to explicit statutory provisions or” controlling
    precedent from either the Supreme Court or this Court. United
    States v. Schultz, 
    565 F.3d 1353
    , 1357 (11th Cir. 2009).
    We ordinarily review evidentiary rulings for an abuse of dis-
    cretion. United States v. U.S. Infrastructure, Inc., 
    576 F.3d 1195
    ,
    USCA11 Case: 20-13174       Date Filed: 07/22/2022     Page: 10 of 18
    10                     Opinion of the Court                 20-13174
    1208 (11th Cir. 2009). “An abuse of discretion occurs where the dis-
    trict court’s decision rests upon a clearly erroneous finding of fact,
    an errant conclusion of law, or an improper application of law to
    fact.” Adams v. Austal, U.S.A., L.L.C., 
    754 F.3d 1240
    , 1248 (11th
    Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted). We will “overturn
    evidentiary rulings only when the moving party has proved a sub-
    stantial prejudicial effect.” 
    Id.
     (internal quotation marks omitted).
    But when a party raises a claim of evidentiary error for the first
    time on appeal, it is reviewed only for plain error. United States v.
    Jernigan, 
    341 F.3d 1273
    , 1280 (11th Cir. 2003).
    We typically review de novo whether a prior conviction is a
    controlled substance offense under § 4B1.2(b) of the Sentencing
    Guidelines. United States v. Lange, 
    862 F.3d 1290
    , 1293 (11th Cir.
    2017). But such arguments raised for the first time on appeal are
    reviewed for plain error. See 
    id.
    III. ANALYSIS
    We first discuss the district court’s finding that Ortiz was
    credible, which led to the court’s denial of Miles’s motion to sup-
    press. Second, we examine Miles’s arguments about prosecutorial
    misconduct and evidentiary errors and whether the cumulative ef-
    fects of such errors rendered Miles’s trial unfair. Third, we take up
    Miles’s challenge to the base offense level that the court used to
    sentence him.
    A.     Suppression Motion
    Miles challenges the district court’s finding that Ortiz was
    credible, arguing that the photographs of the park the defense
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    20-13174               Opinion of the Court                        11
    introduced show that Ortiz could not have seen a drug transaction
    from where he was positioned. See Docs. 31-2; 61-1 at 3. He con-
    tends that, because any reasonable suspicion for stopping and
    searching him was predicated on Ortiz’s incredible testimony, the
    court erred in denying his suppression motion.
    We accept a factfinder’s credibility determination “unless it
    is contrary to the laws of nature, or is so inconsistent or improbable
    on its face that no reasonable factfinder could accept it.” United
    States v. Holt, 
    777 F.3d 1234
    , 1255–56 (11th Cir. 2015) (internal
    quotation marks omitted). “Thus, we defer to the district court’s
    factual determinations unless the district court’s understanding of
    the facts is ‘unbelievable.’” 
    Id. at 1256
    .
    Here, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the
    government, the prevailing party, the district court did not clearly
    err in finding Ortiz’s testimony credible. See McCullough, 851 F.3d
    at 1199. Ortiz testified that he viewed, unobstructed and in daylight
    from 150 feet away, what he believed to be a hand-to-hand drug
    transaction. The court rejected Miles’s argument that Ortiz was
    not credible based on the photographic evidence because, accord-
    ing to Ortiz, the photographs depicted a different location or angle
    from where Ortiz stood, and Miles presented no evidence to the
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    12                         Opinion of the Court                      20-13174
    contrary. Thus, we cannot say that the district court’s determina-
    tion was “unbelievable.” See Holt, 777 F.3d at 1256. 6
    B.      Cumulative Error
    Miles argues that cumulative trial errors deprived him of his
    right to a fair trial. He points to a host of trial errors, which broadly
    fall into two broad groups: (1) challenges to the government’s con-
    duct and (2) evidentiary errors. We discuss the two groups of errors
    in turn, and then consider (3) whether the cumulative effect of such
    errors violated Miles’s right to a fair trial.
    1.     Prosecutorial Misconduct
    We have adopted a two-part test for determining whether a
    prosecutor’s remarks during trial constitute misconduct, focusing
    on “whether the remarks were improper and whether they preju-
    dicially affected the defendant’s substantial rights.” United States v.
    Lacayo, 
    758 F.2d 1559
    , 1565 (11th Cir. 1985). To show that his sub-
    stantial rights have been affected, the defendant must show that
    “there is a reasonable probability that, but for the remarks, the out-
    come would [have been] different.” United States v. Adams,
    
    74 F.3d 1093
    , 1097 (11th Cir. 1996).
    6 Because Miles failed to argue on appeal that Ortiz’s testimony, if credible,
    did not establish reasonable suspicion to stop him, we deem this argument
    abandoned. See Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 
    739 F.3d 678
    , 680 (11th
    Cir. 2014). Even if we were to reach its merits, however, we would affirm the
    district court because, based on Ortiz’s observations, the officers had reasona-
    ble suspicion to stop Miles and pat him down.
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    20-13174                Opinion of the Court                        13
    Miles asserts that the government weaved an inflammatory
    narrative about community safety into its prosecution by implying
    that Miles’s arrest prevented a shooting or other serious crime. He
    also contends that the government bolstered its witnesses by using
    the term “we” when discussing their actions at Miles’s arrest. Be-
    cause Miles did not raise these issues before the district court, we
    review them for plain error. See Merrill, 
    513 F.3d at
    1306–07. But
    no plain error occurred: neither asserted error is contrary to prece-
    dent from either the Supreme Court or this Court. See Schultz,
    
    565 F.3d at 1357
    .
    Miles also argues, as he did before the district court, that the
    government committed misconduct during its closing argument
    by making statements that improperly bolstered its witnesses, den-
    igrated the defense, inserted facts not in evidence, and placed itself
    in the jury box. Assuming for the sake of argument that such re-
    marks were improper, the government’s statements did not
    amount to prosecutorial misconduct because Miles failed to show
    that, but for the remarks during closing arguments, he would not
    have been convicted. See Adams, 
    74 F.3d at 1097
    . The government
    offered substantial evidence of Miles’s guilt through multiple
    MDPD officers’ testimony.
    2.    Evidentiary Errors
    Miles asserts that the government elicited improper lay
    opinions from Ortiz and Arriola. Specifically, Miles challenges
    Ortiz’s and Arriola’s testimony about what they understood “hot”
    USCA11 Case: 20-13174        Date Filed: 07/22/2022     Page: 14 of 18
    14                      Opinion of the Court                 20-13174
    to mean. Miles failed to object to this testimony before the district
    court.
    He also challenges Arriola’s testimony that it was common
    for people conducting drug transactions to separate money into dif-
    ferent pockets. Miles objected to this testimony, but on a different
    basis. See United States v. Gallo-Chamorro, 
    48 F.3d 502
    , 507 (11th
    Cir. 1995) (“To preserve an issue for appeal . . . an objection on
    other grounds will not suffice.”).
    Thus, we review both these challenges for plain error. See
    Jernigan, 
    341 F.3d at 1280
    .
    Miles cannot show error, let alone plain error, because the
    testimony in question was based on their professional experience
    as police officers. See United States v. Novaton, 
    271 F.3d 968
    ,
    1008–09 (11th Cir. 2001) (affirming, based on law enforcement
    agents’ experience as police officers, the admission of their testi-
    mony about the meaning of code words used by the defendants).
    For the same reason, Miles’s preserved challenge to Arriola’s
    testimony—that it was common for individuals to carry their guns
    in the area that he observed Miles holding—fails. See 
    id.
     Miles fur-
    ther contends that the district court compounded its error by call-
    ing Arriola an expert. Even if the district court abused its discretion
    by calling Arriola an expert, Miles failed to show that the comment
    had a substantial prejudicial effect, as Arriola’s testimony was cor-
    roborated by other witnesses’ testimony. See Austal, U.S.A.,
    L.L.C., 754 F.3d at 1248.
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    20-13174                Opinion of the Court                        15
    In addition, Miles challenges the district court’s admission of
    parts of Arriola’s testimony that he contends implicated him in
    other crimes and thus was improper evidence of prior bad acts in
    violation of Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). Specifically, he chal-
    lenges Arriola’s testimony (1) about the meaning of “hot,” (2) that
    the serial number on the firearm was altered, and (3) about why
    someone might separate money in pockets. Because Miles did not
    raise these challenges before the district court, we review them for
    plain error. See Jernigan, 
    341 F.3d at 1280
    .
    No plain error occurred because the challenged testimony
    was relevant and “necessary to complete the story of the crime” or
    “inextricably intertwined with the evidence regarding the charged
    offense.” United States v. Edouard, 
    485 F.3d 1324
    , 1344 (11th Cir.
    2007) (explaining that evidence of criminal activity other than the
    charged offense falls outside the scope of Fed. R. Evid. 404(b) in
    these circumstances). The officers’ testimony about the meaning
    of “hot,” as used by Miles, and about separating money was neces-
    sary to complete the story of the crime. This testimony refuted
    Miles’s implicit assertion that the officers planted the gun on him
    and supported Ortiz’s testimony that he observed a hand-to-hand
    drug transaction—the observation that led to Miles’s arrest for the
    instant conviction. The testimony about the serial number was in-
    extricably intertwined with the evidence regarding the charged of-
    fense, as demonstrated by Arriola’s testimony that he recalled the
    serial number being scratched off when he explained how he rec-
    ognized a photograph of the firearm introduced at trial.
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    16                     Opinion of the Court                 20-13174
    3.     Cumulative Error
    Miles next contends that the cumulative impact of the errors
    discussed above prejudicially affected his substantial rights, but
    again we disagree. Under the cumulative error doctrine, even if in-
    dividual judicial errors would be insufficient to warrant reversal,
    the defendant may have been denied a fair trial when the effect of
    all the errors is evaluated cumulatively. United States v. Lopez,
    
    590 F.3d 1238
    , 1258 (11th Cir. 2009). “In addressing a claim of cu-
    mulative error, we must examine the trial as a whole to determine
    whether the appellant was afforded a fundamentally fair trial.” 
    Id.
    (internal quotation marks omitted). Assuming the district court
    erred in some of these respects, we nonetheless conclude, from our
    review of trial as a whole, that Miles was not deprived of a funda-
    mentally fair trial.
    C.     Sentencing
    Miles argues that his previous Florida conviction under
    
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
    (1)(a)(2) was not a “controlled substance offense”
    under the Sentencing Guidelines. First, he asserts that his statute of
    conviction did not include cocaine. Second, he contends that, be-
    cause § 4B1.2(b) of the Sentencing Guidelines does not define the
    term “controlled substance,” we should look to the definition in
    the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”), 
    21 U.S.C. § 802
    (6). He ar-
    gues that 
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
    (1)(a)’s definition of a controlled sub-
    stance is broader than the CSA because 
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
    (1)(a)
    USCA11 Case: 20-13174        Date Filed: 07/22/2022     Page: 17 of 18
    20-13174                Opinion of the Court                        17
    includes propylhexedrine, which is not a federally-scheduled sub-
    stance.
    A defendant may be classified as a career offender if: (1) he
    is at least 18 years old at the time of the instant offense of convic-
    tion; (2) the instant offense of conviction is either a “crime of vio-
    lence” or a “controlled substance offense”; and (3) he has at least
    two prior convictions of either a “crime of violence” or a “con-
    trolled substance offense.” U.S. Sent’g Guidelines Manual
    § 4B1.1(a) (U.S. Sent’g Comm’n 2021). A “controlled substance of-
    fense” is an offense under federal or state law, punishable by more
    than one year of imprisonment, that prohibits the manufacture,
    import, export, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled sub-
    stance, or possession of a controlled substance, with intent to man-
    ufacture, import, export, distribute, or dispense. U.S. Sent’g Guide-
    lines Manual § 4B1.2(b) (U.S. Sent’g Comm’n 2021).
    Miles’s arguments are foreclosed by precedent. In United
    States v. Smith, we held that a conviction under 
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
    is a “controlled substance offense” under § 4B1.2(b) of the Sentenc-
    ing Guidelines. 
    775 F.3d 1262
    , 1268 (11th Cir. 2014). We rejected
    the argument that 
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
    ’s definition of a controlled sub-
    stance was too broad and must be tied to statutory federal ana-
    logues or generic federal definitions. 
    Id. at 1267
    ; see also United
    States v. Pridgeon, 
    853 F.3d 1192
    , 1200 (11th Cir. 2017) (rejecting
    the argument that Smith was wrongly decided and affirming
    Smith’s holding that convictions under 
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
     qualify as
    “controlled substance offenses” under the Sentencing Guidelines).
    USCA11 Case: 20-13174       Date Filed: 07/22/2022     Page: 18 of 18
    18                     Opinion of the Court                 20-13174
    Under the prior panel precedent rule, we are bound by a
    published prior panel decision “unless and until it is overruled by
    us sitting en banc or by the Supreme Court.” United States v.
    Cruickshank, 
    837 F.3d 1182
    , 1187 (11th Cir. 2016).
    Because Miles did not object in the district court to the de-
    termination that he was a career offender under the Guidelines, we
    review his claim for plain error. See Lange, 862 F.3d at 1293. The
    district court did not plainly err in determining that Miles’s prior
    Florida conviction qualified as a controlled substance offense under
    the Sentencing Guidelines. To the contrary, our prior decisions in
    Smith and Pridgeon foreclose any argument that a conviction un-
    der 
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
     is not a “controlled substance offense” under
    § 4B1.2(b) of the Sentencing Guidelines, or that 
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
    ’s
    definition of a controlled substance is overbroad or must be tied to
    a federal analogue. See Pridgeon, 853 F.3d at 1198, 1200; Smith,
    775 F.3d at 1267–68. We are bound by these holdings under the
    prior panel precedent rule. See Cruickshank, 837 F.3d at 1187.
    Thus, Miles’s prior Florida conviction under 
    Fla. Stat. § 893.13
    (1)(a)(2) qualified as a “controlled substance offense” under
    § 4B1.2(b) of the Sentencing Guidelines, and the district court did
    not err in imposing the career offender enhancement. See U.S.
    Sent’g Guidelines Manual § 4B1.1(a).
    IV. CONCLUSION
    For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court on all
    grounds.
    AFFIRMED.