Filed: Nov. 30, 2005
Latest Update: Mar. 28, 2017
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 03-4770 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus LOUIS N. NOMAR, Defendant - Appellant. On Remand from the United States Supreme Court. (S. Ct. No. 04-5289) Submitted: September 26, 2005 Decided: November 30, 2005 Before WIDENER, WILKINSON, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges. Vacated and remanded for resentencing by unpublished per curiam opinion. Mary Lou Newberger, Federal Public Defender, Edward H. Weis, Assistant Fe
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 03-4770 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus LOUIS N. NOMAR, Defendant - Appellant. On Remand from the United States Supreme Court. (S. Ct. No. 04-5289) Submitted: September 26, 2005 Decided: November 30, 2005 Before WIDENER, WILKINSON, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges. Vacated and remanded for resentencing by unpublished per curiam opinion. Mary Lou Newberger, Federal Public Defender, Edward H. Weis, Assistant Fed..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 03-4770
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
LOUIS N. NOMAR,
Defendant - Appellant.
On Remand from the United States Supreme Court.
(S. Ct. No. 04-5289)
Submitted: September 26, 2005 Decided: November 30, 2005
Before WIDENER, WILKINSON, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.
Vacated and remanded for resentencing by unpublished per curiam
opinion.
Mary Lou Newberger, Federal Public Defender, Edward H. Weis,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Jonathan D. Byrne, Appellate
Counsel, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellant. Kasey Warner,
United States Attorney, L. Anna Forbes, Assistant United States
Attorney, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Louis N. Nomar pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire
fraud via the internet, 18 U.S.C. § 371 (2000), and escape, 18
U.S.C. § 751(a) (2000), and was sentenced to a term of seventy-
seven months imprisonment. We affirmed his sentence. United
States v. Nomar, No. 03-4770,
2004 WL 794520 (4th Cir. Apr. 15,
2004) (unpublished). The Supreme Court subsequently granted
certiorari, vacated this court’s judgment in light of United
States v. Booker,
125 S. Ct. 738 (2005), and remanded Nomar’s case
to this court for further proceedings. For the reasons explained
below, we vacate his sentence and remand for resentencing
consistent with Booker.
Nomar was sentenced before Booker and its predecessor,
Blakely v. Washington,
542 U.S. 296 (2004), were decided, and he
did not raise objections in the district court based on the
mandatory nature of the sentencing guidelines or the district
court’s application of the guidelines based on facts he did not
admit. Therefore, we review his sentence for plain error. United
States v. Hughes,
401 F.3d 540, 547 (4th Cir. 2005). Nomar had
posed as a doctor and written prescriptions for online customers,
some of whom were addicts. The district court calculated Nomar’s
guideline range under the 2003 version of the U.S. Sentencing
Guidelines Manual as follows:
Count One (conspiracy to commit wire fraud)
Base offense level 6 USSG § 2F1.1(a)
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+ 7 loss of $175,000, (b)(1)(H)
+ 2 more than minimal planning,
(b)(2)(A)
+ 2 use of mass marketing, (b)(3)
+ 2 risk of serious bodily injury,
(b)(7)(A)
+ 2 abuse of position of trust, USSG
§ 3B1.3
+ 2 organizer/leader role, USSG
§ 3B1.1(c)
+ 2 o b s t r u c t i o n o f j u s t i ce (esc ape
during prosecution), USSG § 3C1.1
Adjusted offense level 25
Count Two (escape)
Base offense level 13 USSG § 2P1.1(a)(1)
Adjusted offense level 13
Multiple count adjustment None, USSG §§ 3D1.3, 3D1.4
Combined adjusted offense level: 25
Criminal history category: III
Guideline range: 70-87 months
At the sentencing hearing, Nomar objected to the
enhancement for risk of serious bodily injury. He either admitted,
failed to object to, or withdrew his objections to the remaining
sentence enhancements. In his supplemental brief, filed at this
court’s direction after his case was remanded by the Supreme Court,
Nomar argues that his sentence violated the Sixth Amendment because
the district court determined certain facts that increased his
sentence.
If Nomar’s offense level is calculated using all the
enhancements except the one he specifically contested at sentencing
(risk of serious bodily injury), the combined adjusted offense
level would be 23 and his guideline range would be 57-71 months.
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Nomar concedes in his supplemental brief that the court correctly
applied an increase of 7 levels for the amount of loss, a 2-level
increase for the use of mass marketing, and a 2-level adjustment
for obstruction of justice. Using this calculation, the offense
level would be 17 and the guideline range would be 30-37 months.
Nomar’s sentence of seventy-seven months imprisonment exceeds the
maximum permitted under either calculation. We conclude that
Nomar’s seventy-seven-month sentence was imposed in violation of
the Sixth Amendment and meets the standard for plain error that
must be noticed set out in Hughes.*
We therefore vacate the sentence and remand for
resentencing consistent with Booker. Although the sentencing
guidelines are no longer mandatory, Booker makes clear that a
sentencing court must still “consult [the] Guidelines and take them
into account when sentencing.” 125 S. Ct. at 767. On remand, the
district court should first determine the appropriate sentencing
range under the guidelines, making all factual findings appropriate
for that determination. Hughes, 401 F.3d at 546. The court should
consider this sentencing range along with the other factors
described in 18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(a) (West 2000 & Supp. 2005), and
*
Just as we noted in Hughes, “[w]e of course offer no
criticism of the district court judge, who followed the law and
procedure in effect at the time” of Nomar’s sentencing. Hughes,
401 F.3d at 545 n.4. See generally Johnson v. United States,
520
U.S. 461, 468 (1997) (stating that an error is “plain” if “the law
at the time of trial was settled and clearly contrary to the law at
the time of appeal”).
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then impose a sentence. Id. If that sentence falls outside the
guidelines range, the court should explain its reasons for the
departure as required by 18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(c)(2). Id. The
sentence must be “within the statutorily prescribed range and . . .
reasonable.” Id. 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.
VACATED AND REMANDED
FOR RESENTENCING
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