Filed: Mar. 09, 2016
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS March 9, 2016 Elisabeth A. Shumaker TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, No. 15-5074 v. (D.C. No. 4:10-CR-00050-JHP-1) (N.D. Okla.) GRANT ANDREW STOUT, Defendant - Appellant. ORDER AND JUDGMENT * Before BRISCOE, GORSUCH, and McHUGH, Circuit Judges. Grant Andrew Stout pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and was sentenced to 32 months’ impri
Summary: FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS March 9, 2016 Elisabeth A. Shumaker TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, No. 15-5074 v. (D.C. No. 4:10-CR-00050-JHP-1) (N.D. Okla.) GRANT ANDREW STOUT, Defendant - Appellant. ORDER AND JUDGMENT * Before BRISCOE, GORSUCH, and McHUGH, Circuit Judges. Grant Andrew Stout pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and was sentenced to 32 months’ impris..
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FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS March 9, 2016
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
No. 15-5074
v.
(D.C. No. 4:10-CR-00050-JHP-1)
(N.D. Okla.)
GRANT ANDREW STOUT,
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before BRISCOE, GORSUCH, and McHUGH, Circuit Judges.
Grant Andrew Stout pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of
firearms and ammunition and was sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment,
followed by three years of supervised release. After he violated the conditions of
his release, the district court sentenced Mr. Stout to an additional 18 months in
prison.
*
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has
determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the
determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G).
The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and
judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case,
res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive
value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
Mr. Stout now appeals, arguing that the district court acted in a
procedurally unreasonable manner by failing to consider the sentencing guidelines
range, as required by 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(4), and by failing to explain its specific
reasons for selecting a sentence outside that range, as required by 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(c)(2). Because Mr. Stout never objected to the procedure by which his
sentence was determined and explained at sentencing, our review is limited to
plain error. See United States v. Ruiz-Terrazas,
477 F.3d 1196, 1199 (10th Cir.
2007). We will find plain error only where there is “(i) error, (ii) that is plain,
which (iii) affects the defendant’s substantial rights, and which (iv) seriously
affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.”
Id.
We see no error that might fairly be called plain. The district court
correctly calculated the recommended guidelines range of 5-11 months and did
not treat that range as mandatory. See R. vol. II, at 20. The court considered the
§ 3553(a) factors, applied those factors in imposing its sentence, and provided
specific reasons for issuing a sentence above the guidelines range, emphasizing
“the defendant’s lack of cooperation with supervision,” “his overall attitude
toward both the court and the probation office,” and the court’s perception that
Mr. Stout “ha[d] shown little desire to succeed on supervision nor to desire a
change in behavior.”
Id. at 32. The district court provided similar reasons in its
written statement. See Supp. R. vol. I, at 1.
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Neither can Mr. Stout satisfy the third prong of the plain error test. To
show that an error affected his substantial rights, Mr. Stout must establish “a
reasonable probability that, but for the error claimed, the result of the proceeding
would have been different.” United States v. Cook,
550 F.3d 1292, 1298 (10th
Cir. 2008) (internal quotation marks omitted). This he cannot do. Whatever the
perceived inadequacy in the district court’s recitation of its reasons for departing
from the guidelines range, the district court’s sentencing decision was amply
supported by evidence the government proffered at sentencing and the defense
left uncontroverted. The record reveals that Mr. Stout violated six terms of his
supervised release, including by possessing dangerous weapons and testing
positive for methamphetamines numerous times. R. vol. II, at 23-26. We cannot
say that, but for the claimed error, there is any reasonable probability Mr. Stout’s
sentence would have been different.
Affirmed.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Neil M. Gorsuch
Circuit Judge
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