United States v. Gregory Howard , 429 F. App'x 430 ( 2011 )

Case: 10-30972 Document: 00511514590 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/21/2011
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
June 21, 2011
No. 10-30972
Conference Calendar Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
GREGORY CHARLES HOWARD,
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Louisiana
USDC No. 3:03-CR-174-1
Before JONES, Chief Judge, and STEWART and SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Gregory Charles Howard, federal prisoner # 04073-095, appeals the
district court’s grant of his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) motion to reduce his sentence
based on the amendments to the crack cocaine Guideline. Howard, through the
Federal Public Defender, contends that the district court abused its discretion
by not granting a reduction to the middle of the recalculated guidelines range.
He also contends that the district court committed procedural error or abused
its discretion by failing to give reasons for the sentence.
*
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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR .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.
Case: 10-30972 Document: 00511514590 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/21/2011
No. 10-30972
As Howard concedes, his arguments are foreclosed by United States v.
Evans, 587 F.3d 667 (5th Cir. 2009), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 3462 (2010). In
Evans, we noted that, because the district court was under no obligation to
reduce the defendant’s sentence at all, it was under no obligation to reduce the
sentence even further within the recalculated range. Id. at 673. In addition, the
district court was not required to give reasons for granting the defendant’s
§ 3582(c)(2) motion but not imposing a lower sentence within the recalculated
guidelines range. Id. at 674. Accordingly, Howard’s contentions are foreclosed
by Evans, and the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. See id. at
672-74.
2