United States v. Jane Doe

Case: 12-15219 Date Filed: 06/03/2013 Page: 1 of 3
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 12-15219
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 6:12-cr-00002-BAE-GRS-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JANE DOE,
a.k.a. Erika Guerra,
a.k.a. Karina,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Georgia
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(June 3, 2013)
Before CARNES, WILSON, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Case: 12-15219 Date Filed: 06/03/2013 Page: 2 of 3
Jane Doe, whose real name remains unknown, pleaded guilty to one count of
fraudulent use of a social security number. She appeals her 24-month sentence,
contending that the district court improperly varied upward from her guidelines
range of 10 to 16 months. She argues that her sentence is substantively
unreasonable and that the district court did not adequately consider the 18 U.S.C. §
3553(a) factors.
We review the reasonableness of a sentence under a deferential abuse of
discretion standard. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 41, 128 S.Ct. 586, 591,
(2007). “[A] district court has considerable discretion in deciding whether the §
3553(a) factors justify a variance and the extent of one that is appropriate.” United
States v. Shaw, 560 F.3d 1230, 1238 (11th Cir. 2009) (quotation marks omitted).
We will vacate a sentence “if, but only if, we are left with the definite and firm
conviction that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in weighing
the § 3553(a) factors by arriving at a sentence that lies outside the range of
reasonable sentences dictated by the facts of the case.” United States v. Irey, 612
F.3d 1160, 1190 (11th Cir. 2010) (en banc) (quotation marks omitted). Even if we
might have reasonably concluded that a different sentence was appropriate, that is
not enough to justify reversal. Shaw, 560 F.3d at 1238.
At Doe’s sentence hearing the district court stated that it had considered her
sentencing memorandum, which argued that the court should take into account the
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Case: 12-15219 Date Filed: 06/03/2013 Page: 3 of 3
fact that Doe was the mother of four children, three of whom had special needs,
and that she was expecting a fifth child. The court also stated that it had
considered the guidelines range and the § 3553(a) factors. United States v. Talley,
431 F.3d 784, 788 (11th Cir. 2005) (holding that the district court need not discuss
each factor individually and acknowledging that it has considered the § 3553(a)
factors is enough).
The court emphasized the hardship suffered by the victim of Doe’s crime,
who had spent years trying to remedy the problems arising from Doe’s use of her
name, birthdate, and social security number. Rejecting Doe’s story that when she
was brought to the United States as a minor, her family directed her to use the
name of her “half-sister,” Ericka Guerra, the court remarked that Doe “continues to
maintain that her true name is Ericka Guerra, and her date of birth is the same as
the true Ericka Guerra.” Taking into account the fact that Doe was pregnant, the
court recommended confinement at a facility that would enable her to care for and
bond with her infant. The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing an
above-the-guidelines sentence of 24 months imprisonment, which was less than
half of the five-year statutory maximum for Doe’s offense.
AFFIRMED.
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