Opinion

United States v. Timothy Brown

  • 519 F. App'x 832
Court
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Filed
Apr 4, 2013
Status
Unpublished
On the bench
Niemeyer, Motz, Hamilton
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 26.3%

The opinion

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 12-4716

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

TIMOTHY JARRETT BROWN,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern

District of West Virginia, at Charleston. Thomas E. Johnston,

District Judge. (2:10-cr-00077-1)

Submitted: March 8, 2013 Decided: April 4, 2013

Before NIEMEYER and MOTZ, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior

Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Carl E. Hostler, PRIM LAW FIRM, Hurricane, West Virginia, for

Appellant. Blaire L. Malkin, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

ATTORNEY, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Timothy Jarrett Brown appeals the district court’s

order revoking his supervised release and imposing a sentence of

twenty-four months’ imprisonment. On appeal, counsel has filed

a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967),

asserting that there are no meritorious issues for appeal but

questioning whether the district court imposed a plainly

unreasonable sentence considering Brown’s mental illnesses.

Brown was informed of his right to file a pro se supplemental

brief, but he has not done so. For the reasons that follow, we

affirm.

A district court has broad discretion to impose a

sentence upon revoking a defendant’s supervised release. United

States v. Thompson, 595 F.3d 544, 547 (4th Cir. 2010). We will

affirm a revocation sentence if it is not “plainly

unreasonable.” United States v. Crudup, 461 F.3d 433, 439 (4th

Cir. 2006). In making this determination, we first consider

whether the sentence imposed is procedurally or substantively

unreasonable. Id. at 438-49. A revocation sentence is

procedurally reasonable if the district court has considered the

advisory policy statement range and the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)

(2006) factors applicable to supervised release revocation. 461

F.3d at 438-40. “A court need not be as detailed or specific

when imposing a revocation sentence as it must be when imposing

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a post-conviction sentence, but it still must provide a

statement of reasons for the sentence imposed.” Thompson, 595

F.3d at 547 (internal quotation marks omitted). A revocation

sentence is substantively reasonable if the district court

stated a proper basis for its sentencing decision. Crudup, 461

F.3d at 440. Only if a sentence is found procedurally or

substantively unreasonable will we “then decide whether the

sentence is plainly unreasonable.” Id. at 439.

We have reviewed the revocation sentence and conclude

that the sentence is both procedurally and substantively

reasonable. The twenty-four-month sentence does not exceed the

applicable statutory maximum of twenty-four months’

imprisonment. Further, the district court properly considered

the advisory Guidelines policy statement range and applicable

§ 3553(a) factors. Moreover, the district court stated a proper

basis for imposing the sentence, emphasizing the violent nature

of Brown’s offense and criminal history, the need for

deterrence, and the need to protect the public. Accordingly, we

need not address whether the revocation sentence was plainly

unreasonable.

Counsel also questions whether the district court

should have granted a downward departure based on Brown’s

diminished capacity. No motion for a downward departure based

on Brown’s diminished capacity was raised in the district court.

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Thus, we have reviewed this claim for plain error and find none.

See United States v. Hamilton, 701 F.3d 404, 410 (4th Cir. 2012)

(discussing standard of review).

In accordance with Anders, we have examined the entire

record for any meritorious issues and have found none. We

therefore affirm the district court’s judgment. This court

requires that counsel inform Brown, in writing, of his right to

petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further

review. If Brown requests that a petition be filed, but counsel

believes that such a petition would be frivolous, counsel may

move in this court for leave to withdraw from representation.

Counsel’s motion must state that a copy thereof was served on

Brown. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and

legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials

before this court and argument would not aid the decisional

process.

AFFIRMED

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