United States v. Simpson

Opinion

Case: 24-60046 Document: 45-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/09/2024

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 24-60046 Summary Calendar FILED ____________ September 9, 2024 Lyle W. Cayce United States of America, Clerk

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Reginald Simpson,

Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi USDC No. 3:22-CR-134-1 ______________________________

Before Wiener, Ho, and Ramirez, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Defendant-Appellant Reginald Simpson appeals the sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He contends that his within- guidelines sentence of 120 months is substantively unreasonable. Because Simpson preserved his challenge to the substantive

_____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 24-60046 Document: 45-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/09/2024

No. 24-60046

reasonableness of his sentence, our review is for abuse of discretion. See Holguin-Hernandez v. United States, 589 U.S. 169, 174–75 (2020). A properly calculated sentence within the guidelines range is presumptively reasonable. United States v. Jenkins, 712 F.3d 209, 214 (5th Cir. 2013). The only way that this presumption may be rebutted is if the appellant can demonstrate that the sentence does not account for a factor that should receive significant weight, gives significant weight to an irrelevant or improper factor, or represents a clear error of judgment in balancing the sentencing factors. Id. The record demonstrates that the district court considered Simpson’s mitigation arguments and the § 3553(a) factors, including the context of his offense. Simpson has not rebutted the presumption that his within-guidelines sentence is reasonable. See id. AFFIRMED.