Filed: Sep. 12, 2012
Latest Update: Feb. 12, 2020
Summary: Case: 12-10318 Date Filed: 09/12/2012 Page: 1 of 4 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT _ No. 12-10318 Non-Argument Calendar _ D.C. Docket No. 4:07-cr-00050-SPM-WCS-1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll l Plaintiff-Appellee, versus GUS DASHER, llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Defendant-Appellant. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida _ (September 12, 2012) Before DUBINA,
Summary: Case: 12-10318 Date Filed: 09/12/2012 Page: 1 of 4 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT _ No. 12-10318 Non-Argument Calendar _ D.C. Docket No. 4:07-cr-00050-SPM-WCS-1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll l Plaintiff-Appellee, versus GUS DASHER, llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Defendant-Appellant. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida _ (September 12, 2012) Before DUBINA, ..
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Case: 12-10318 Date Filed: 09/12/2012 Page: 1 of 4
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 12-10318
Non-Argument Calendar
________________________
D.C. Docket No. 4:07-cr-00050-SPM-WCS-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll l Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
GUS DASHER,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Defendant-Appellant.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Florida
________________________
(September 12, 2012)
Before DUBINA, Chief Judge, JORDAN and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Appellant Gus Dasher appeals the district court’s judgment revoking his
Case: 12-10318 Date Filed: 09/12/2012 Page: 2 of 4
supervised release and imposing a ten-month sentence of imprisonment pursuant
to 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(3). The district court found that Dasher committed six
violations of his supervised release conditions, including violating state laws,
failing to submit monthly reports, failing to notify his probation officer when
arrested or questioned by law enforcement, and failing to notify his probation
officer of a change in address. On appeal, Dasher argues that the district court
erred by failing to make explicit findings about the evidence and reasons it relied
upon in revoking his supervised release.
We generally review a district court’s revocation of supervised release for
an abuse of discretion. United States v. Frazier,
26 F.3d 110, 112 (11th Cir.
1994). However, where an objection is raised for the first time on appeal, we
review for plain error. United States v. Gresham,
325 F.3d 1262, 1265 (11th Cir.
2003). To prevail under the plain-error standard, a defendant must show that:
“(1) an error occurred; (2) the error was plain; (3) it affected his substantial rights;
and (4) it seriously affected the fairness of the judicial proceedings.”
Id. With
regard to whether an error affected substantial rights, “[i]n most cases, a court of
appeals cannot correct the forfeited error unless the defendant shows that the error
was prejudicial.” United States v. Olano,
507 U.S. 725, 734,
113 S. Ct. 1770,
1778,
123 L. Ed. 2d 508 (1993).
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Case: 12-10318 Date Filed: 09/12/2012 Page: 3 of 4
“Under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e), a district court may, upon finding by a
preponderance of the evidence that a defendant has violated a condition of
supervised release, revoke the term of supervised release and impose a term of
imprisonment after considering certain factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).”
United States v. Sweeting,
437 F.3d 1105, 1107 (11th Cir. 2006); see also 18
U.S.C. § 3583(e)(3). In United States v. Copeland, we clarified that due process
requires the district court to state “the reasons for the revocation of supervised
release and the evidence the decision maker relied upon.” Copeland,
20 F.3d 412,
414 (11th Cir. 1994). See also Morrissey v. Brewer,
408 U.S. 471, 489,
92 S. Ct.
2593, 2604,
33 L. Ed. 2d 484 (1972) (holding that, to satisfy due process in the
context of parole revocation, the factfinder must issue a statement as to the
evidence relied on and the reasons for revocation). Moreover, “general conclusory
reasons . . . do not meet [the] due process requirement that the revoking judge state
the factual findings and the reasons relied upon for revocation.” United States v.
Lacey,
648 F.2d 441, 445 (5th Cir. Unit A June 1981). In Copeland, we
concluded that the district court had provided sufficient reasons because it “set
forth the specific witness testimony it relied upon in reaching its conclusions, its
reasons for crediting [a] witness, and its justification for revoking appellant’s
supervised release.”
Copeland, 20 F.3d at 415.
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Case: 12-10318 Date Filed: 09/12/2012 Page: 4 of 4
We conclude from the record here that the district court erred by failing to
state “the reasons for the revocation of supervised release and evidence the
decision maker relied upon.” However, because Dasher raises this argument for
the first time on appeal, we review for plain error only. Dasher has not shown that
the outcome of the proceedings below would have been different absent the error.
At the revocation hearing, Dasher conceded several violations and there was
sufficient evidence presented for the district court to find that Dasher committed
the violations that were contested. Accordingly, we conclude that the district
court did not plainly err because Dasher cannot show that the court’s error affected
his substantial rights. Thus, we affirm the district court’s judgment revoking
Dasher’s supervised release.
AFFIRMED.
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