United States v. William Combs

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 20-2154

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United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

William Santa Combs

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant

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Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern

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Submitted: March 22, 2021 Filed: April 30, 2021

[Unpublished]

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Before KELLY, ERICKSON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

After considering a number of factors, the district court 1 decided not to reduce William Combs’s 210-month prison sentence under the First Step Act. See Pub. L.

1 The Honorable John A. Jarvey, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

No. 115-391, 132 Stat. 5194 (2018). Though he challenges the decision on a host of grounds, we affirm.

We conclude that the district court gave a reasoned basis for its decision and did not abuse its discretion. See United States v. McDonald, 944 F.3d 769, 771–72 (8th Cir. 2019) (discussing the standard of review and outlining the two-step analysis for motions under the First Step Act); United States v. Williams, 943 F.3d 841, 844 (8th Cir. 2019) (explaining that the sentencing court must have considered the parties’ arguments and have a reasoned basis for its decision). It did not have to consider the statutory sentencing factors before making a decision, nor reduce his sentence even if he was eligible. See § 404(c), 132 Stat. at 5222 (“Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a court to reduce any sentence pursuant to this section.”); United States v. Moore, 963 F.3d 725, 727 (8th Cir. 2020) (explaining that, in reviewing a First Step Act motion, “a district court may, but need not, consider the section 3553 factors”).

We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel permission to withdraw.

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