United States v. Acosta-Gallegos

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-4929
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
RAMON ACOSTA-GALLEGOS,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. Malcolm J. Howard,
District Judge. (CR-04-40)
Submitted: April 19, 2006 Decided: May 8, 2006
Before WILKINSON, WILLIAMS, and KING, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Thomas P. McNamara, Federal Public Defender, Stephen C. Gordon,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
Appellant. Frank D. Whitney, United States Attorney, Anne M. Hayes,
Christine Witcover Dean, Assistant United States Attorneys,
Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Ramon Acosta-Gallegos appeals the seventy-month sentence
imposed after he pleaded guilty to one count of reentry after
deportation after having been convicted of a felony, in violation
of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), (b)(2) (2000). In accordance with the
recommendation in United States v. Hammoud, 378 F.3d 426 (4th Cir.)
(order), opinion issued by 381 F.3d 316 (4th Cir. 2004) (en banc),
vacated, 543 U.S. 1097 (2005), the district court also announced an
alternate sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(a) (West 2000 &
Supp. 2005), of six years of imprisonment.
Acosta-Gallegos argues that his sentence must be vacated
and the case remanded for resentencing because the district court
treated the Sentencing Guidelines* as mandatory. He does not
assert any Sixth Amendment error in the determination of his
sentence. Acosta-Gallegos objected to the Guideline calculations
at sentencing based on the Supreme Court’s decision in Blakely v.
Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004). We therefore review the district
court’s mandatory application of the Guidelines to determine
Acosta-Gallegos’ sentence for harmless error. United States v.
Rodriguez, 433 F.3d 411, 416 (4th Cir. 2006). In harmless error
review, the “defendant is entitled to relief if an error has
affected his substantial rights,” and the burden is on the
Government to show that any error did not affect the defendant’s
*
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual (2003).
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substantial rights. Id. We have recognized that the application
of the Guidelines as a mandatory determinant in sentencing is
error. United States v. White, 405 F.3d 208, 216-17 (4th Cir.),
cert. denied, 126 S. Ct. 668 (2005).
The Government concedes that the district court erred in
sentencing Acosta-Gallegos pursuant to a mandatory Guidelines
scheme, but argues that the district court’s announcement of an
alternative sentence renders any error harmless. Specifically, the
Government asserts that the Guideline range was properly calculated
and would apply on remand, the sentence is within that range, and
in view of the lengthier alternate sentence, Acosta-Gallegos would
not obtain any relief on resentencing.
Our review of the record leads us to agree with the
Government’s position. Acosta-Gallegos’ sentence is at the bottom
of the Guideline range, and the district court announced a slightly
higher sentence when it considered the Guidelines as advisory only
in conjunction with the factors listed in 18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(a).
We conclude that the district court’s error in sentencing Acosta-
Gallegos pursuant to the then-mandatory Guidelines did not affect
his substantial rights.
Accordingly, we affirm Acosta-Gallegos’ sentence. We
dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions
are adequately presented in the materials before the court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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