United States v. Pamela Harris , 690 F. App'x 866 ( 2017 )


Menu:
  •      Case: 16-10306    Document: 00514034465   Page: 1   Date Filed: 06/15/2017
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
    United States Court of Appeals
    Fifth Circuit
    No. 16-10306                              FILED
    Summary Calendar                        June 15, 2017
    Lyle W. Cayce
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Clerk
    Plaintiff–Appellee,
    v.
    ANDRE LAMONT RAWLS,
    Defendant–Appellant.
    Cons. w/No. 16-10329
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff–Appellee,
    v.
    PAMELA HARRIS,
    Defendant–Appellant.
    Appeals from the United States District Court
    for the Northern District of Texas
    USDC No. 3:04-CR-334-4
    USDC No. 3:90-CR-189-6
    Case: 16-10306      Document: 00514034465         Page: 2    Date Filed: 06/15/2017
    No. 16-10306
    c/w No. 16-10329
    Before REAVLEY, OWEN, and ELROD, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM: *
    Andre Lamont Rawls, federal prisoner # 03285-017, and Pamela Harris,
    federal prisoner # 21153-077, appeal following the district court’s denial of
    their 
    18 U.S.C. § 3582
    (c)(2) motions to reduce their sentences based on
    Amendment 782 to the Sentencing Guidelines (U.S.S.G.). Rawls pleaded guilty
    to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute five
    kilograms or more of cocaine. The district court determined that Rawls was a
    career offender pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1 but gave him credit for
    substantial assistance and sentenced him to 151 months in prison. Rawls now
    argues that his applicable guidelines range has been reduced pursuant to
    Amendment 782 because the district court erroneously determined that he was
    a career offender, as his prior Florida convictions for cocaine trafficking were
    broader than the generic definition of a controlled substance offense.
    Harris was convicted in 1991 of conspiracy to sell five kilograms or more
    of cocaine.    The district court determined that her offense level was 38
    pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 and sentenced her to 360 months in prison. When
    Harris sought a sentencing reduction under § 3582(c)(2), the district court
    ascertained that although application of Amendment 782 would have resulted
    in an offense level of 36 under § 2D1.1, Harris would have been found to be a
    career offender with an offense level of 37 under § 4B1.1(b)(1) based on the
    statutory maximum life sentence, which would result in the same guidelines
    range. Harris maintains that, pursuant to Apprendi v. New Jersey, 
    530 U.S. 466
     (2000), the district court should have recognized that she should not have
    * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
    be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
    CIR. R. 47.5.4.
    2
    Case: 16-10306     Document: 00514034465      Page: 3    Date Filed: 06/15/2017
    No. 16-10306
    c/w No. 16-10329
    faced a life sentence because the jury was not advised that it had to find the
    relevant drug quantity. She therefore asserts that the court should have
    determined that the offense level under § 4B1.1(b)(3) was 32 based on the
    proper statutory maximum sentence of 20 years, that her sentence therefore
    would have been based on the offense level of 36 calculated under § 2D1.1, and
    that she was entitled to a reduced sentence under the newly applicable
    guidelines range.
    Because Rawls and Harris are challenging whether the district court had
    authority to reduce their sentences under § 3582(c)(2), we review the district
    court’s determination de novo. United States v. Jones, 
    596 F.3d 273
    , 276 (5th
    Cir. 2010).    A § 3582(c)(2) proceeding is not a full resentencing or an
    opportunity to challenge the original sentence. See Dillon v. United States, 
    560 U.S. 817
    , 827 (2010); United States v. Whitebird, 
    55 F.3d 1007
    , 1011 (5th Cir.
    1995); U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(a)(3). A district court considering a reduction under
    § 3582(c)(2) must “determine the amended guideline range that would have
    been applicable to the defendant if the amendment(s) to the guidelines . . . had
    been in effect at the time the defendant was sentenced.”            § 1B1.10(b)(1).
    Rawls’s challenge to the applicability of the career offender Guideline
    constitutes “a challenge to the appropriateness of the original sentence,” which
    is not cognizable under § 3582(c)(2). Whitebird, 
    55 F.3d at 1011
    . Likewise,
    Harris’s assertion that Apprendi should be taken into account in determining
    the statutory maximum sentence she faced for the purpose of determining the
    offense level of the career offender Guideline in effect asks the court to
    determine the amended guidelines range post-Apprendi, rather than the range
    “that would have been applicable . . . if the amendment(s) . . . had been in effect”
    at the time of her sentencing. § 1B1.10(b)(1). Moreover, Apprendi is not
    3
    Case: 16-10306   Document: 00514034465     Page: 4   Date Filed: 06/15/2017
    No. 16-10306
    c/w No. 16-10329
    retroactively applicable to cases that became final before it was decided.
    United States v. Brown, 
    305 F.3d 304
    , 309-10 (5th Cir. 2002) (per curiam).
    The judgments in these cases are therefore AFFIRMED.
    4
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 16-10306 Cons. w-16-10329 Summary Calendar

Citation Numbers: 690 F. App'x 866

Judges: Reavley, Owen, Elrod

Filed Date: 6/15/2017

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 10/19/2024