Filed: Nov. 30, 2005
Latest Update: Mar. 28, 2017
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 03-4247 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus JIMMY BIJOU, a/k/a Jimmy Bigou, Defendant - Appellant. On Remand from the United States Supreme Court. (S. Ct. No. 04-5272) Submitted: October 31, 2005 Decided: November 30, 2005 Before WIDENER, LUTTIG, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges. Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion. Noell Tin, TIN FULTON GREEN & OWEN, P.L.L.C., Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appe
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 03-4247 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus JIMMY BIJOU, a/k/a Jimmy Bigou, Defendant - Appellant. On Remand from the United States Supreme Court. (S. Ct. No. 04-5272) Submitted: October 31, 2005 Decided: November 30, 2005 Before WIDENER, LUTTIG, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges. Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion. Noell Tin, TIN FULTON GREEN & OWEN, P.L.L.C., Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appel..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 03-4247
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
JIMMY BIJOU, a/k/a Jimmy Bigou,
Defendant - Appellant.
On Remand from the United States Supreme Court.
(S. Ct. No. 04-5272)
Submitted: October 31, 2005 Decided: November 30, 2005
Before WIDENER, LUTTIG, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.
Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Noell Tin, TIN FULTON GREEN & OWEN, P.L.L.C., Charlotte, North
Carolina, for Appellant. Gretchen C. F. Shappert, United States
Attorney, Robert J. Gleason, Assistant United States Attorney,
Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
This case is before us on remand from the United States
Supreme Court for further consideration in light of United
States v. Booker,
125 S. Ct. 738 (2005). In United States v.
Bijou, 92 F. App. 966 (4th Cir. Apr. 13, 2004) (unpublished),
vacated,
125 S. Ct. 1022 (2005), we affirmed Jimmy Bijou’s 240-
month sentence imposed upon his plea of guilty to three counts of
possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. After reviewing
Bijou’s sentence in light of Booker, we vacate his sentence and
remand for resentencing.
Bijou contends that his sentence violates the Sixth
Amendment because the district court in sentencing him applied the
cross reference in U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual
§ 2K2.1(c)(1)(A) (2002). The result is that Bijou is serving a
sentence based upon facts (possession of a certain amount of drugs
and possession of a firearm during the drug offense) found by the
judge by a preponderance of the evidence, rather than facts found
by a jury or admitted to by Bijou. Bijou raised this issue in the
district court, and our review is therefore de novo. See United
States v. Mackins,
315 F.3d 399, 405 (4th Cir. 2003).
In Booker, the Supreme Court held that the mandatory
manner in which the Sentencing Guidelines required courts to impose
sentencing enhancements based on facts found by the court by a
preponderance of the evidence violated the Sixth Amendment.
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Booker, 125 S. Ct. at 746, 750 (Stevens, J., opinion of the Court).
The Court remedied the constitutional violation by making the
Guidelines advisory through the removal of two statutory provisions
that had rendered them mandatory. Id. at 746 (Stevens, J., opinion
of the Court); id. at 756-67 (Breyer, J., opinion of the Court).
Here, the district court sentenced Bijou under the
mandatory Sentencing Guidelines by applying the cross reference,
determining the base offense level based upon the amount of drugs,
and enhancing that level by two levels based upon Bijou’s
possession of a firearm during the commission of the drug offense.
These findings, among others, resulted in a guideline range of 210-
262 months’ imprisonment, and the court sentenced Bijou to 240
months in prison.
Had Bijou been sentenced based upon the facts to which he
pled guilty, his total offense level would have been 24. With a
criminal history category of VI, Bijou’s guideline range would have
been 100-125 months’ imprisonment. Because his 240-month sentence
exceeds the maximum authorized by the facts he admitted, there was
a Sixth Amendment error requiring resentencing.1 See United
States v. Evans,
416 F.3d 298, 300 (4th Cir. 2005).
1
Just as we noted in United States v. Hughes,
401 F.3d 540,
545 n.4 (4th Cir. 2005), “[w]e of course offer no criticism of the
district judge, who followed the law and procedure in effect at the
time of” Bijou’s sentencing.
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Accordingly, we vacate Bijou’s sentence and remand for
resentencing.2 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.
VACATED AND REMANDED
2
Although the Guidelines are no longer mandatory, Booker makes
clear that a sentencing court must still “consult [the] Guidelines
and take them into account when sentencing.” 125 S. Ct. at 767
(Breyer, J., opinion of the Court). On remand, the district court
should first determine the appropriate sentencing range under the
Guidelines, making all factual findings appropriate for that
determination. Hughes, 401 F.3d at 546. The court should consider
this sentencing range along with the other factors described in 18
U.S.C.A. § 3553(a) (West 2000 & Supp. 2005), and then impose a
sentence. Hughes, 401 F.3d at 546. If the sentence falls outside
the Guideline range, the court should explain its reasons for the
departure as required by 18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(c)(2) (West 2000 &
Supp. 2005). Hughes, 401 F.3d at 546. The sentence must be
“within the statutorily prescribed range and . . . reasonable.”
Id. at 547.
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