United States v. Rodney Hill

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: December 11, 2019
• Docket: 19-1829
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 19-1829 ___________________________

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Rodney Phillip Hill

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Des Moines ____________

Submitted: December 6, 2019 Filed: December 11, 2019 [Unpublished] ____________

Before STRAS, WOLLMAN, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Rodney Hill appeals the district court’s 1 order denying his motion for a sentence reduction under Amendment 782 to the Sentencing Guidelines. See

1 The Honorable Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa. 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). He has also moved for leave to proceed pro se, and his attorney has asked to withdraw.

We conclude that Hill was ineligible for relief because his pre- and post- Amendment Guidelines ranges were the same. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) (providing that a court may reduce a term of imprisonment that is based on “a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered” (emphasis added)); see also United States v. Baylor, 556 F.3d 672, 673 (8th Cir. 2009) (per curiam) (holding that a district court lacks the authority to reduce a sentence under section 3582(c)(2) if the relevant amendment does not lower the applicable Guidelines range). We accordingly affirm the judgment, grant his attorney permission to withdraw, and deny Hill’s motion. ______________________________

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