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U.S. v. McPHERSON, 12-441-cr. (2012)

Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Number: infco20121226046 Visitors: 13
Filed: Dec. 26, 2012
Latest Update: Dec. 26, 2012
Summary: SUMMARY ORDER UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that the order of the District Court is AFFIRMED. Defendant-Appellant Shonta McPherson ("McPherson") appeals the November 30, 2011 order of the District Court for the District of Connecticut (Hall, J. ) denying his motion for a reduction in sentence under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c). We assume the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts and procedural history of the case. 18 U.S.C. 3582(c) permits a dis
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SUMMARY ORDER

UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that the order of the District Court is AFFIRMED.

Defendant-Appellant Shonta McPherson ("McPherson") appeals the November 30, 2011 order of the District Court for the District of Connecticut (Hall, J.) denying his motion for a reduction in sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c). We assume the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts and procedural history of the case.

18 U.S.C. § 3582(c) permits a district court in some circumstances to modify a sentence "based on a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered by the Sentencing Commission pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 994(o)." Id. § 3582(c)(2). McPherson moved for a reduction in his sentence under § 3582(c) because of changes made in 2007 to the sentencing guidelines for offenses involving crack cocaine. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1. The District Court denied McPherson's motion because his pre-departure guidelines range was not derived from the guidelines relating to crack cocaine, but rather from the career offender guidelines. See U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. We vacated and remanded on the basis of our decision in United States v. McGee, 553 F.3d 225 (2d Cir. 2009) (per curiam), which recognized a limited circumstance in which resentencing was permitted where a guidelines revision affected the range that ultimately served as the basis for a defendant's sentence. United States v. McPherson, 435 F. App'x 17 (2d Cir. 2011). We noted, however, that "if McPherson's sentence when imposed was not based on the crack cocaine guidelines, McPherson is ineligible for a sentence reduction." Id. at 18.

The District Court on remand explained that it arrived at McPherson's sentence not by reference to the crack cocaine guidelines, but by adding time that McPherson still had to serve on a state sentence to the ten year statutory minimum for his federal offense. After considering the matter in a lengthy hearing, the judge emphatically stated that "There was no effect[, n]ot even a marginal effect of the old crack guidelines on Mr. McPherson's sentence. . . . Nothing about that sentence, the 120 plus the State sentence in any way was affected by the crack guidelines. The crack guidelines could have been 300 to 350 or 120 to 131, it wouldn't have mattered to the way I was approaching the sentence." There is thus "no evidence" that U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1, relating to the calculation of guidelines ranges for offenses involving crack cocaine, "played any role" in the calculation of McPherson's sentence. United States v. Williams, 551 F.3d 182, 184 (2d Cir. 2009). Accordingly, the district court did not err in denying McPherson relief pursuant to § 3582(c).

We have reviewed McPherson's remaining arguments and find them to be without merit. For the foregoing reasons, the order of the District Court is AFFIRMED.

FootNotes


* The Clerk of the Court is directed to amend the official caption to conform to the above.
Source:  Leagle

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