United States v. Knatt

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
August 13, 2008
No. 07-31087
Summary Calendar Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
PEYTON EARL KNATT
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
USDC No. 6:06-CR-60007-2
Before JOLLY, BENAVIDES, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Peyton Earl Knatt appeals the sentence imposed after his guilty plea to
conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine and marijuana. As
the Government concedes, the district court, lacking the benefit of the Supreme
Court’s recent decisions in Gall v. United States, __U.S.__, 128 S. Ct. 586 (2007),
and Kimbrough v. United States, __U.S.__, 128 S. Ct. 558 (2007), erroneously
believed itself constrained by this court’s pre-Gall jurisprudence from imposing
*
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should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited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.
No. 07-31087
a nonguidelines sentence. The district court expressly stated that it would have
imposed a different sentence but for the perceived constraints. Because the
district court essentially treated the Guidelines as mandatory in this case, the
sentence was procedurally unreasonable. See Gall, 128 S. Ct. at 597. The
sentence is therefore VACATED and the case is REMANDED for resentencing.
2