Filed: Mar. 18, 2014
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 13-4746 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER NICOLAI, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Spartanburg. G. Ross Anderson, Jr., Senior District Judge. (7:13-cr-00019-GRA-1) Submitted: March 11, 2014 Decided: March 18, 2014 Before KING, GREGORY, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. James B. L
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 13-4746 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER NICOLAI, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Spartanburg. G. Ross Anderson, Jr., Senior District Judge. (7:13-cr-00019-GRA-1) Submitted: March 11, 2014 Decided: March 18, 2014 Before KING, GREGORY, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. James B. Lo..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 13-4746
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER NICOLAI,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Spartanburg. G. Ross Anderson, Jr., Senior
District Judge. (7:13-cr-00019-GRA-1)
Submitted: March 11, 2014 Decided: March 18, 2014
Before KING, GREGORY, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
James B. Loggins, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Greenville,
South Carolina, for Appellant. William Jacob Watkins, Jr.,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenville, South
Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Michael Christopher Nicolai appeals his sentence of
110 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to possessing
child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B).
Nicolai’s attorney has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v.
California,
386 U.S. 738 (1967), asserting that there are no
meritorious grounds for appeal, but raising the issue whether
the district court erred in sentencing Nicolai. Nicolai was
notified of his right to file a pro se supplemental brief but
has not done so. We affirm.
We review a criminal sentence for reasonableness using
an abuse of discretion standard. United States v. McManus,
734
F.3d 315, 317 (4th Cir. 2013) (citing Gall v. United States,
552
U.S. 38, 51 (2007)). First, we consider whether the district
court committed any significant procedural error, such as
improperly calculating the Sentencing Guidelines range, failing
to consider the sentencing factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), or
failing to explain the sentence adequately. United States v.
Allmendinger,
706 F.3d 330, 340 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 133 S.
Ct. 2747 (2013). If the sentence is procedurally reasonable, we
then consider its substantive reasonableness, taking into
account the totality of the circumstances.
Gall, 552 U.S. at
51. We presume that a sentence within a properly calculated
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Guidelines range is substantively reasonable. United States v.
Susi,
674 F.3d 278, 289 (4th Cir. 2012).
In sentencing, the district court must first correctly
calculate the defendant’s sentencing range under the Guidelines.
Allmendinger, 706 F.3d at 340. The district court is next
required to give the parties an opportunity to argue for what
they believe is an appropriate sentence, and the court must
consider those arguments in light of the factors set forth in 18
U.S.C. § 3553(a).
Id.
When rendering a sentence, the district court must
make and place on the record an individualized assessment based
on the particular facts of the case. United States v. Carter,
564 F.3d 325, 328, 330 (4th Cir. 2009). In explaining the
sentence, the “sentencing judge should set forth enough to
satisfy the appellate court that he has considered the parties’
arguments and has a reasoned basis for exercising his own legal
decisionmaking authority.” Rita v. United States,
551 U.S. 338,
356 (2007). While a district court must consider the statutory
factors and explain its sentence, it need not explicitly
reference § 3553(a) or discuss every factor on the record.
United States v. Johnson,
445 F.3d 339, 345 (4th Cir. 2006).
We have reviewed the record and conclude that
Nicolai’s sentence is reasonable. The district court properly
calculated Nicolai’s Guidelines range and reasonably determined
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that a sentence within the range was appropriate based on the
§ 3553(a) factors.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire
record and have found no meritorious issues for appeal.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment. This
Court requires that counsel inform his or her client, in
writing, of his or her right to petition the Supreme Court of
the United States for further review. If the client requests
that a petition be filed, but counsel believes that such a
petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in this Court
for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel’s motion
must state that a copy thereof was served on the client.
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
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