United States v. Tony McAllister

491 F. App'x 569
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedAugust 1, 2012
Docket10-6280, 10-6320, 10-6281, 10-6400, 10-6287
StatusUnpublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 491 F. App'x 569 (United States v. Tony McAllister) 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. Tony McAllister, 491 F. App'x 569 (6th Cir. 2012).

Opinions

ALARCÓN, Circuit Judge.

Defendants-appellants Tony McAllister, Charles Patterson, Stanley Hughes, Stacey Ratcliff, and Jessica Weeks-Savage appeal from the district court’s judgment sentencing them to various terms of imprisonment for conspiracy with intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) and (b)(1)(A).1 Patter[571]*571son and Ratcliff contend that the district court erred when it applied dangerous weapon enhancements to their sentences, pursuant to Section 2Dl.l(b)(l) of the Sentencing Guidelines, because there was insufficient evidence connecting the firearm found in their bedroom with their drug trafficking offenses. Weeks-Savage contends that the district court erred by adding two criminal history points for her sixty-day sentence for violating the conditions of probation on a 2004 Georgia state obstruction conviction because she was not represented by counsel at the probation revocation hearing. Hughes and McAllis-ter contend that the district court erred by imposing sentences that are procedurally and substantively unreasonable. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the district court as to McAllister, Patterson, Ratcliff, and Weeks-Savage. As for Hughes, we vacate his sentence and remand for re-sentencing.

I.

In 2003, law enforcement officers began investigating a methamphetamine conspiracy in Tennessee and Georgia. Officers learned that McAllister, Patterson, Hughes, Ratcliff, and Weeks-Savage were involved in the methamphetamine conspiracy. They later admitted to participating in the conspiracy and pleaded guilty to conspiracy with intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) and (b)(1)(A). They raised several different objections at their sentencing hearings, which the district court overruled. We address each appellant’s arguments on appeal in turn.

II.

A.

Tony McAllister

McAllister contends that the district court erred because his sentence was procedurally and substantively unreasonable. We “review a district court’s sentencing decisions ‘under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard’ ” for procedural and substantive reasonableness. United States v. Baker, 559 F.3d 443, 448 (6th Cir.2009) (quoting Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 41, 128 S.Ct. 586, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007)). We review a district court’s interpretation of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo and its “findings of fact at sentencing for clear error.” Id.

1.

McAllister contends that his sentence was procedurally unreasonable because the district court: (1) failed to explain adequately the basis for its decision; (2) relied on erroneous facts or facts not in evidence; and (3) treated the Guidelines as presumptively reasonable. We disagree.

McAllister has not established that the district court failed to explain adequately the basis for its decision. “A district court must explain the sentence it has chosen, but it is well-settled that it is not required to respond to every argument raised by the defendant.” United States v. Judge, 649 F.3d 453, 457 (6th Cir.2011). A court’s failure to discuss an argument does not necessarily mean that the court ignored the argument. United States v. Simmons, 501 F.3d 620, 626 (6th Cir.2007) [hereinafter Simmons /]. “The level of detail required in the court’s explanation will vary from case to case, and the underlying inquiry is ‘whether the record makes clear that the sentencing judge listened to each argument, considered the supporting evidence, was fully aware of the defendant’s eircumstances[,] and took them into account in sentencing him.’ ” Judge, 649 F.3d at 458 (alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Vonner, 516 F.3d 382, 387 (6th Cir.2008) (en banc)). A “within-[572]*572Guidelines sentence[] need not be explained with the same level of detail as [a] non-Guidelines sentence[ ].” Id.

The district court acknowledged and rejected McAllister’s argument that the Guidelines for methamphetamine offenses conflict with the sentencing goals of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). The district court explained that the Guidelines for methamphetamine offenses reflect Congress’s judgment, as adopted by the Sentencing Commission, that methamphetamine offenses require stiff punishment.

In rejecting McAllister’s argument that he is “outside the heartland” of methamphetamine cases, the district court explained that McAllister’s situation is “typical; it is not atypical” because many first-time offenders have “good work histories” and “supportive families, but because of the addictive nature of methamphetamine, all those things become secondary when they become involved ... in criminal activities.” R. 629 at 118-19.

The district court acknowledged and rejected his argument that a sentence of home detention or time served was appropriate. The district court explained that Congress has “determined that people such as Mr. McAlister [sic] should receive punishment greater than home detention and probation for their activities.” Id. at 122. It stated that it did not “think anyone can say that Congress’s judgment was misplaced there.” Id. at 123. The district court concluded that the Guidelines reflect Congress’s judgment that methamphetamine offenders should “receive a period of incarceration as opposed to home detention or probation or time served.” Id.; see generally Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85, 108-09, 128 S.Ct. 558, 169 L.Ed.2d 481 (2007) (explaining that Congress established the Commission to formulate national sentencing standards because the Commission “has the capacity courts lack” to analyze appropriate sentencing standards).

The district court was not required to explain why the articles and studies regarding recidivism that McAllister attached to his sentencing memorandum were not persuasive. These articles, while potentially instructive, are not binding precedent. Moreover, McAllister has not established that the district court ignored or failed to consider these materials. See Simmons I, 501 F.3d at 626 (“Lack of discussion will not mean that the district court ignored the factor.”).

b.

Despite his contentions to the contrary, McAllister has not established that the district court made clearly erroneous factual findings or relied on evidence outside the record. A factual finding is clearly erroneous “ ‘when, although there may be some evidence to support the finding, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.’ ” United States v. Darwich, 337 F.3d 645, 663 (6th Cir.2003) (quoting United States v. Latouf, 132 F.3d 320, 331 (6th Cir.1997)).

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Bluebook (online)
491 F. App'x 569, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-tony-mcallister-ca6-2012.