Filed: Sep. 10, 2007
Latest Update: Feb. 12, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 07-4354 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus GARLAND LENN EARY, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Charleston. John T. Copenhaver, Jr., District Judge. (2:06-cr-00223) Submitted: August 20, 2007 Decided: September 10, 2007 Before WILKINSON, MICHAEL, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Mary Lou New
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 07-4354 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus GARLAND LENN EARY, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Charleston. John T. Copenhaver, Jr., District Judge. (2:06-cr-00223) Submitted: August 20, 2007 Decided: September 10, 2007 Before WILKINSON, MICHAEL, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Mary Lou Newb..
More
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 07-4354
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
GARLAND LENN EARY,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern
District of West Virginia, at Charleston. John T. Copenhaver, Jr.,
District Judge. (2:06-cr-00223)
Submitted: August 20, 2007 Decided: September 10, 2007
Before WILKINSON, MICHAEL, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Mary Lou Newberger, Federal Public Defender, Jonathan D. Byrne,
OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, David R. Bungard, Assistant
Federal Public Defender, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellant.
Charles T. Miller, United States Attorney, L. Anna Forbes,
Assistant United States Attorney, Charleston, West Virginia, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Garland Lenn Eary pled guilty to possession of child
pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A (2000). The district
court sentenced Eary to forty-two months’ imprisonment and a
lifetime of supervised release. Eary contends on appeal that the
district court imposed a procedurally unreasonable sentence. After
thoroughly reviewing the record, we affirm.
Eary first contends that his sentence is longer than
necessary to satisfy the statutory mandate that the court impose a
sentence that is “sufficient, but not greater than necessary.” See
18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(a) (2000). Eary argues that the collection of
child pornography does not have the same negative effects as the
production of child pornography. Eary notes that he does not have
a criminal record, and that, even though he was an elementary
school teacher, there is no evidence that he acted inappropriately
towards students.
Eary also asserts that his “history and characteristics”
do not justify a lifetime term of supervised release. He argues
that his offense is one of the lesser acts targeted by 18 U.S.C. §
3583(k) (2000), and a lifetime term of supervised release should be
reserved for such offenses as aggravated sexual abuse (18 U.S.C. §
2241), abusive sexual contact with a minor (18 U.S.C. § 2244), or
the actual production of child pornography (18 U.S.C. 2251).
Finally, Eary argues that a lifetime term of supervised release
- 2 -
will not protect the public, citing a study of recidivism rates of
defendants convicted of child pornography offenses.
After United States v. Booker,
543 U.S. 220 (2005), a
sentencing court is no longer bound by the range prescribed by the
sentencing guidelines. United States v. Hughes,
401 F.3d 540, 546
(4th Cir. 2005). In a post-Booker sentencing such as the one at
issue, the district court must calculate the appropriate guideline
range, consider that range in conjunction with other relevant
factors under the guidelines and 18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(a), and impose
a sentence. United States v. Green,
436 F.3d 449, 455-56 (4th
Cir.), cert. denied,
126 S. Ct. 2309 (2006). This court has
observed that “specific reference [at sentencing] to § 3553 [is]
certainly not required.” United States v. Johnson,
445 F.3d 339,
345 (4th Cir. 2006). A post-Booker sentence must be “within the
statutorily prescribed range and . . . reasonable.”
Hughes, 401
F.3d at 546-47 (citations omitted). “[A] sentence within the
properly calculated Guidelines range . . . is presumptively
reasonable.”
Green, 436 F.3d at 457 (internal quotation marks and
citation omitted); see Rita v. United States,
127 S. Ct. 2456
(2007).
Here, the sentence imposed falls on the low end of the
properly calculated advisory guideline range and well below the
ten-year statutory maximum term of imprisonment. See 18 U.S.C.
§ 2252A(a)(5)(B) (2000). Under applicable case law, the sentence
- 3 -
of forty-two months is presumptively reasonable. See
Green, 436
F.3d at 457.
We find the sentence is reasonable. The district court
examined the § 3553(a) factors and stated it considered the
advisory guidelines, the “egregious” nature of the images that
numbered in the hundreds, and the fact that as a consumer of these
images, Eary encouraged their production. The court also
specifically recognized that Eary did not have a criminal history
and was a good citizen except for the conduct for which he pled
guilty.
To the extent Eary argues his sentence should be reduced
because he did not distribute or engage in the production of child
pornography, his argument is without merit. Had Eary engaged in
the distribution or manufacturing of child pornography, his
guideline range would have recommended a longer term of
imprisonment. See, e.g., USSG § 2G2.2(3), (5). Similarly, Eary’s
guideline range would have recommended a longer term of
imprisonment if he had a prior criminal history.
Finally, Eary argues that a lifetime of supervised
release is excessive because according to a study on recidivism
rates of defendants convicted of child pornography offenses, there
is less risk of recidivism from a child pornography offender who
has not acted out on children than there is of federal offenders
generally with no prior criminal history. This study and argument
- 4 -
were not presented to the district court, and therefore the
argument is not cognizable on review. See Muth v. United States,
1 F.3d 246, 250 (4th Cir. 1993).
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment. 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
- 5 -