United States v. Gasaway

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
August 7, 2009
No. 08-11142
Summary Calendar Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
WILL GASAWAY,
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:08-CR-99-3
Before JOLLY, WIENER, and ELROD, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Will Gasaway pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more
of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
Gasaway appeals his within-guidelines sentence of 135 months of imprisonment,
arguing that the sentence is procedurally unreasonable because the district court
failed to provide adequate reasons for his sentence.
Because Gasaway did not object at sentencing to the adequacy of the
court’s reasons for the sentence, this issue is reviewed for plain error. See
*
Pursuant to Fifth Circuit Rule 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not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in Fifth
Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
No. 08-11142
United States v. Mondragon-Santiago, 564 F.3d 357, 361 (5th Cir. 2009),
petition for cert. filed (June 24, 2009) (No. 08-11099). Even if the district court
failed to adequately explain its reasons for rejecting Gasaway’s request for a
downward departure, Gasaway has not demonstrated how any error affected his
substantial rights; that is, he has not shown that the purported error affected or
“undermine[d] confidence in the outcome.” Id. at 364. Thus, Gasaway has not
met the plain error standard. Accordingly, we AFFIRM the district court’s
judgment.
2