United States v. Rodney Blocker

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: March 23, 2023
• Docket: 22-3174
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 22-3174 ___________________________

United States of America,

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee,

v.

Rodney Blocker,

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant. ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Hot Springs ____________

Submitted: March 20, 2023 Filed: March 23, 2023 [Unpublished] ____________

Before COLLOTON, KELLY, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Rodney Blocker appeals a sentence imposed by the district court1 after Blocker pleaded guilty to a firearm offense. His counsel has moved to withdraw and filed a

1 The Honorable Susan O. Hickey, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), challenging the guidelines calculation and the reasonableness of the sentence.

We conclude that there was no reversible error, as the district court explained that it would have imposed the same sentence even if it had sustained Blocker’s objection to the base offense level and applied a lower advisory sentencing guidelines range. See United States v. Thibeaux, 784 F.3d 1221, 1227 (8th Cir. 2015); United States v. Icaza, 492 F.3d 967, 970-71 (8th Cir. 2007). We also conclude that Blocker’s sentence was not unreasonable. There is no indication that the court overlooked a relevant factor, gave significant weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, or committed a clear error of judgment in weighing the relevant factors. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461-62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc) (standard of review); see also United States v. Callaway, 762 F.3d 754, 760 (8th Cir. 2014).

We have independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), and we find no non-frivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we affirm, and we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw. ______________________________

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