Filed: Oct. 14, 2010
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 09-5180 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. ZLJAHUC LOGAN JAMES, Defendant – Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Beaufort. Sol Blatt, Jr., Senior District Judge. (9:08-cr-00821-SB-1) Submitted: September 23, 2010 Decided: October 14, 2010 Before AGEE and WYNN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 09-5180 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. ZLJAHUC LOGAN JAMES, Defendant – Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Beaufort. Sol Blatt, Jr., Senior District Judge. (9:08-cr-00821-SB-1) Submitted: September 23, 2010 Decided: October 14, 2010 Before AGEE and WYNN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. ..
More
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 09-5180
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
ZLJAHUC LOGAN JAMES,
Defendant – Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Beaufort. Sol Blatt, Jr., Senior District
Judge. (9:08-cr-00821-SB-1)
Submitted: September 23, 2010 Decided: October 14, 2010
Before AGEE and WYNN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Janis Richardson Hall, Greenville, South Carolina, for
Appellant. Robert Nicholas Bianchi, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
ATTORNEY, Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Zljahuc Logan James appeals the 132-month sentence
imposed following his guilty plea to interference with commerce
by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (2006), and using
and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of
violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. § 924(c)(1) (West 2000 &
Supp. 2010). * James’s counsel filed a brief pursuant to
Anders v. California,
386 U.S. 738 (1967), asserting that there
are no meritorious grounds for appeal but questioning whether
the district court failed to adequately explain James’s
sentence. James has not filed a pro se brief, though he was
advised of his right to do so. Finding no reversible error, we
affirm.
The sole issue raised by counsel in the Anders brief
is whether the district court committed procedural error by
failing to adequately explain James’s sentence. In reviewing a
sentence, we must first ensure that the district court did not
commit any “significant procedural error,” such as failing to
properly calculate the applicable Guidelines range, failing to
consider the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (2006) factors, or failing to
adequately explain the sentence. Gall v. United States, 552
*
The sentence consists of twelve months on the robbery
count and a consecutive mandatory statutory sentence of 120
months on the firearm count.
2
U.S. 38, 51 (2007). The district court is not required to
“robotically tick through § 3553(a)’s every subsection.” United
States v. Johnson,
445 F.3d 339, 345 (4th Cir. 2006). However,
the district court “must place on the record an ‘individualized
assessment’ based on the particular facts of the case before it.
This individualized assessment need not be elaborate or lengthy,
but it must provide a rationale tailored to the particular case
at hand and adequate to permit ‘meaningful appellate review.’”
United States v. Carter,
564 F.3d 325, 330 (4th Cir. 2009)
(quoting
Gall, 552 U.S. at 50) (internal footnote omitted).
Further, in imposing a variant sentence, as was imposed on the
robbery count, the district court “must consider the extent of
the deviation and ensure that the justification is sufficiently
compelling to support the degree of the variance.”
Gall, 552
U.S. at 50.
Because counsel raises the claimed error for the first
time on appeal, we review for plain error. United States v.
Lynn,
592 F.3d 572, 577 (4th Cir. 2010). To demonstrate plain
error, a defendant must show that: (1) there was an error;
(2) the error was plain; and (3) the error affected his
“substantial rights.” United States v. Olano,
507 U.S. 725, 732
(1993). Our review of the record leads us to conclude that the
district court did not commit reversible procedural error in
imposing James’s variant sentence.
3
We consider the substantive reasonableness of the
sentence, taking into account the totality of the circumstances.
Gall, 552 U.S. at 51. We may not presume an outside-Guidelines
sentence is unreasonable.
Id. We “may consider the extent of
the deviation, but must give due deference to the district
court’s decision that the § 3553(a) factors, on a whole, justify
the extent of the variance.”
Id. On review, we conclude that
the district court did not commit substantive error in imposing
the downward variant sentence on the robbery count.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the record
in this case and have found no meritorious issues for appeal.
We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment. This court
requires that counsel inform James, in writing, of his right to
petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further
review. If James requests that a petition be filed, but counsel
believes that such a petition would be frivolous, counsel may
move in this court for leave to withdraw from representation.
Counsel’s motion must state that a copy thereof was served on
James. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
legal conclusions are adequately presented in the materials
before the court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.
AFFIRMED
4