United States v. Ryans

139 F. App'x 488

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: July 13, 2005
• Docket: 04-4067
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Tonya Ryans appeals her sixteen month sentence, imposed after she pleaded guilty to one count of student loan fraud in violation of 20 U.S.C. § 1097(a) (2000).

Ryans argues the district court violated her Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial when it applied a two level enhancement to her base offense level for obstruction of justice pursuant to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 3C1.1 (2003). See United States v. Booker, — U.S.-, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005).

In Booker, the Supreme Court concluded that sentence enhancements based on facts found by the court alone and not by the jury violated the Sixth Amendment’s imperative that “any fact (other than a prior conviction) which is necessary to support a sentence exceeding the maximum authorized by the facts established by a plea of guilty or a jury verdict must be admitted by the defendant or proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. at 756 (citing Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000)). The Court severed and excised two provisions of the Sentencing Reform Act: 18 U.S.C. § 3553(b)(1) (2000), requiring sentencing courts to impose a sentence within the guideline range, and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(e) (2000), setting forth standards of review on appeal. The Court held the remainder of the guidelines remain as advisory, requiring a sentencing court to consider applicable guidelines ranges, but allowing the court to “tailor the sentence in light of other statutory concerns....” Id. at 757.

Section 3C1.1 directs a sentencing court to increase a defendant’s offense lev el by two levels if the defendant “willfully obstructed or impeded ... the administration of justice during the course of the investigation, prosecution, or sentencing of the instant offense of conviction, and the obstructive conduct related to the defendant’s offense of conviction and any relevant conduct.” United States v. Hudson, 272 F.3d 260, 268 (4th Cir.2001) (citing USSG § 3C1.1 (subdividing letters and numbers omitted)). The Application Notes for § 3C1.1 explain that “willfully failing to appear, as ordered, for a judicial proceeding” amounts to the type of conduct for which the enhancement applies. See USSG § 3C1.1, cmt. n. 4(e)). We conclude that because Ryans admitted at sentencing that she intentionally ignored the district court’s correspondence notifying her about her sentencing hearing, her Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial was not violated.

We also conclude that Ryans has failed to establish that her sentence under a mandatory sentencing scheme constituted plain error affecting her substantial rights. See United States v. White, 405 F.3d 208, 223 (4th Cir.2005) (holding that defendants must demonstrate actual prejudice).

Accordingly, we affirm Ryans’s conviction and sentence. 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.

AFFIRMED