United States v. Ybarra

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: February 1, 2021
• Docket: 20-50601
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Case: 20-50601 Document: 00515727806 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/01/2021

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED February 1, 2021 No. 20-50601 Lyle W. Cayce Summary Calendar Clerk

United States of America,

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Carlos Ybarra,

Defendant—Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 5:08-CR-47-21

Before Clement, Elrod, and Haynes, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Carlos Ybarra, federal prisoner # 97326-180, moves for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) on appeal from the denial of a motion for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) based on his health and the risk of COVID-19. The IFP motion is construed as a challenge to the

* Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4. Case: 20-50601 Document: 00515727806 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/01/2021

No. 20-50601

district court’s certification that the appeal was not taken in good faith. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3); Baugh v. Taylor, 117 F.3d 197, 202 (5th Cir. 1997). We review the determination that relief was unwarranted under the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors for abuse of discretion. United States v. Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691, 693 (5th Cir. 2020). The district court clearly articulated fact- specific reasons why Ybarra’s sentence should not be reduced, chiefly his membership in a violent criminal organization and his murder of a government informant. Ybarra’s contrary arguments that his history and offense are outweighed by his present characteristics and circumstances amount to a disagreement with the court’s balancing of the § 3553(a) factors, which “is not a sufficient ground for reversal.” Chambliss, 948 F.3d at 694. Although Ybarra fails to show a reversible error by the district court, his appeal is not without any arguable merit, see Howard v. King, 707 F.2d 215, 220 (5th Cir. 1983), and he is financially eligible to proceed IFP, see Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339 (1948). We therefore GRANT the motion to proceed IFP and AFFIRM. Ybarra’s motion asking this court to reduce his sentence is DENIED.