United States v. McClain

429 F. App'x 538
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJuly 8, 2011
Docket07-1284
StatusUnpublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 429 F. App'x 538 (United States v. McClain) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. McClain, 429 F. App'x 538 (6th Cir. 2011).

Opinion

BOYCE F. MARTIN, JR., Circuit Judge.

Duane Milton McClain, Jr. pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fifty grams or more of cocaine base, five kilograms or more of *540 cocaine, one kilogram or more of heroin, and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. McClain’s Sentencing Guidelines range was from twelve years and seven months to fifteen years and eight months. The district court sentenced him to thirteen years imprisonment. On appeal, McClain makes four main arguments: (1) the district court committed plain error by failing to respond to his mitigation argument; (2) the district court committed plain error by failing to state his Guidelines range on the record; (3) the district court’s drug quantity determination was clearly erroneous; and (4) we should remand this case to the district court to consider McClain’s motion for reduction of sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). Because these arguments are not meritorious, we AFFIRM the decision of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

McClain was involved in a large-scale drug trafficking organization buying and selling powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana from 2004 until his arrest on September 20, 2005. McClain and a number of codefendants were charged with a variety of crimes, and McClain pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fifty or more grams of cocaine base, five kilograms or more of cocaine, one kilogram or more of heroin, and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(l)(A)(i), and 846. 1 The parties agreed that the conspiracy involved at least five kilograms of powder cocaine and at least fifty grams of cocaine base.

The Probation Department prepared a Presentence Report, which compiled a number of statements from McClain’s co-defendants regarding the amount of drugs that should be attributed to him. The Report recommended that he be held responsible for ninety kilograms of powder cocaine and 160 grams of crack cocaine based on statements by codefendant Jamokenteyatte Hampton. These amounts yielded a recommended base offense level of thirty-six.

McClain objected to the drug quantity that the Report attributed to him. He submitted a sentencing memorandum in which he argued that although Hampton’s statements supported a base offense level of thirty-six, the statements of several other codefendants supported a base offense level of only thirty-four.

The district court conducted a sentencing hearing on February 15, 2007. McClain argued, consistent with his sentencing memorandum, that his base offense level should be set below thirty-six. The district court stated that it had reviewed the guilty plea transcript, and later noted that it had reviewed the sentencing memorandum. It stated that because McClain pled guilty to conspiracy, he was responsible for any drug quantities that were a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the conspiracy. The district court found McClain to be responsible for at least fifteen but less than fifty kilograms of powder cocaine and at least 150 but less than 500 grams of cocaine base, yielding a base offense level of thirty-four. The district court granted McClain a three-level downward departure for acceptance of responsibility and reduced his offense level to thirty-one, with a criminal history category IV. Defense counsel asked the district court to consider McClain’s cooperation in an unrelated state murder case, and the government confirmed his cooperation.

*541 McClain’s offense level and criminal history category yielded a Guidelines range of twelve years and seven months to fifteen years and eight months, although the district court did not state this range in terms of months on the record. The district court addressed all of the section 3553(a) sentencing factors in some detail, and sentenced McClain to thirteen years imprisonment. At the conclusion of the hearing, the district court asked whether there were any legal objections to the sentence, and defense counsel responded that there were not.

On April 11, 2008, McClain filed a motion for modification of sentence based on the retroactive amendments to the crack Sentencing Guidelines. On April 16, the district court ordered the motion held in abeyance due to McClain’s projected release date.

McClain makes four arguments on appeal: (1) the district court committed plain error by failing to respond to his mitigation argument; (2) the district court committed plain error by failing to state his Guidelines range on the record; (3) the district court’s drug quantity determination was clearly erroneous; and (4) we should remand this case to the district court to consider McClain’s motion for reduction of sentence.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Standard of Review

Although McClain argues that this Court should not review allegations of procedural error not preserved at sentencing for plain error, the en banc Court has held to the contrary. See United States v. Vonner, 516 F.3d 382, 386 (6th Cir.2008) (en banc). McClain concedes that we have no authority to depart from this rule. See Salmi v. Sec’y of Health & Human Serv., 774 F.2d 685, 689 (6th Cir.1985). Thus, we must apply the plain error standard of review to McClain’s claim of procedural unreasonableness. Plain error requires a defendant to show “(1) error (2) that was obvious or clear, (3) that affected defendant’s substantial rights and (4) that affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of the judicial proceedings.” Vonner, 516 F.3d at 386 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

B. Mitigation Argument

McClain argues that the district court failed to explain in sufficient detail why it rejected his argument for a downward variance based on his cooperation with state authorities. A district court’s failure to adequately explain its chosen sentence renders the sentence procedurally unreasonable. United States v. Hall, 632 F.3d 331, 335 (6th Cir.2011). “Although Congress requires a court to give ‘the reasons’ for its sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c), it does not say that courts must give the reasons for rejecting any and all arguments by the parties for alternative sentences.” Vonner, 516 F.3d at 387.

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Bluebook (online)
429 F. App'x 538, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mcclain-ca6-2011.