United States v. Brian Goffigan

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: April 22, 2024
• Docket: 22-7451
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 22-7451 Doc: 9 Filed: 04/22/2024 Pg: 1 of 2

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 22-7451

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

BRIAN LEE GOFFIGAN,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Arenda L. Wright Allen, District Judge. (2:16-cr-00068-AWA-RJK-1)

Submitted: April 19, 2024 Decided: April 22, 2024

Before NIEMEYER, KING, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Brian Lee Goffigan, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 22-7451 Doc: 9 Filed: 04/22/2024 Pg: 2 of 2

PER CURIAM:

Brian Lee Goffigan, a federal inmate sentenced as a career offender, appeals the

district court’s order denying his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion for compassionate

release. He argues that, in finding no extraordinary and compelling basis for relief, the

district court violated the rule established in United States v. Hodge, 902 F.3d 420, 427,

430 (4th Cir. 2018) (holding that Government cannot, for first time on collateral review,

rely on previously unused predicate offense to justify potentially invalid sentencing

enhancement). We agree with the district court’s determination that Hodge does not apply

where, as here, there is no challenge to the validity of the defendant’s sentence. *

Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s order. We dispense with oral argument

because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this

court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

* Goffigan does not dispute the district court’s determination that one of his prior convictions—use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, in violation of Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-53.1—categorically qualifies as a career offender predicate. Consequently, we express no opinion on this issue.