United States v. Malcom Anwar Williams

USCA11 Case: 22-13150 Document: 30-1 Date Filed: 06/28/2023 Page: 1 of 12

[DO NOT PUBLISH]

In the

United States Court of Appeals

For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 22-13150

Non-Argument Calendar

____________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

versus

MALCOM ANWAR WILLIAMS,

Defendant-Appellant.

____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Florida

D.C. Docket No. 0:15-cr-60120-KAM-2

____________________

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2 Opinion of the Court 22-13150

Before WILSON, BRANCH, and LUCK, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Malcolm Williams, proceeding pro se, appeals the district

court’s dismissal in part and denial in part of his motion for a

sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). He argues that

the district court abused its discretion by (1) construing his

§ 3582(c) motion as a second or successive 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion

to vacate sentence; (2) addressing sua sponte whether he had

exhausted his administrative remedies; and (3) failing to consider

his arguments concerning intervening changes in the law and his

rehabilitation as required by Concepcion v. United States, 142 S. Ct.

2389 (2022). After review, we affirm.

I. Background

Williams pleaded guilty in 2015 to Hobbs Act robbery

pursuant to a written plea agreement. At sentencing, Williams was

deemed a career offender under U.S.S.G. 4B1.2(a) on the basis that

the Hobbs Act robbery conviction qualified as a “crime of

violence,” and Williams had two prior state offenses that qualified

as either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense. 1 The

1 At the time of Williams’s sentencing, the Sentencing Guidelines provided

that a defendant was a career offender if (1) he was at least 18 years’ old when

he committed the instant offense, (2) the instant offense was a felony that was

“either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense,” and (3) the

defendant had two prior felony convictions for “either a crime of violence or

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district court imposed a sentence of 151 months’ imprisonment.

Williams did not appeal. Two of his codefendants did, however,

and successfully challenged their respective career-offender

enhancements on the basis that Hobbs Act robbery is not a crime

of violence under the Guidelines. See United States v. Eason, 953

F.3d 1184, 1187 (11th Cir. 2020).

In 2020, Williams filed a pro se 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c) motion

seeking a sentence reduction based on “extraordinary and

a controlled substance offense.” U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1(a) (2014). “Crime of

violence” was defined as:

any offense . . . punishable by imprisonment for a term

exceeding one year, that—

(1) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use

of physical force against the person of another, or

(2) is burglary of a dwelling, arson, or extortion, involves use

of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a

serious potential risk of physical injury to another.

Id. § 4B1.2(a) (2014). In 2015, the Supreme Court struck down the

“residual clause”—the clause capturing offenses that “otherwise

involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical

injury to another”—in the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) as

unconstitutionally vague. See Johnson v. United States, 576 U.S. 591, 606

(2015). The ACCA’s residual clause was identical to the residual clause

in U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(2). Compare 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) with

U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(2). Following Johnson, in 2016, the Sentencing

Commission amended § 4B1.2(a)(2) and removed the residual clause

from the Guidelines. See U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(2) (2016); see also United

States v. Eason, 953 F.3d 1184, 1195 (11th Cir. 2020) (discussing

amendment).

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compelling reasons,” namely, that (1) Hobbs Act robbery is no

longer considered a “crime of violence” due to an amendment to

the crime of violence definition in the Guidelines; (2) two of his

codefendants had their career-offender designations based on

Hobbs Act robbery vacated on appeal; and (3) one of his state

convictions should not have counted as a predicate offense for

purposes of the career-offender enhancement. The district court

denied the motion, concluding that it lacked authority to reduce

Williams’s sentence because a change in law did not constitute an

extraordinary and compelling reason under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 to

reduce a sentence. Furthermore, it explained that, even if it had

the authority to reduce his sentence, consideration of the 18 U.S.C.

§ 3553(a) factors weighed against a reduction. Finally, the district

court noted that releasing him early would be inconsistent with the

policy statements in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 because Williams presented

a danger to the community.

Williams appealed the denial of his § 3582(c) motion, and we

affirmed. United States v. Williams, No. 20-14360, 2021 WL 6101491

(11th Cir. Dec. 21, 2021).

Thereafter, in August 2022, Williams filed a renewed

motion for a sentence reduction under § 3582(c)(1)(A), arguing that

the Supreme Court’s then-recent decision in Concepcion v. United

States, required the district court to consider intervening changes

in the law and changes of fact, such as evidence of rehabilitation,

when deciding § 3582(c) motions for a sentence reduction. Thus,

he argued that, under Concepcion, the district court was bound to

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consider that Hobbs Act robbery was no longer a crime of violence

under the amended guidelines as evidenced by this Court’s

decision in Eason, as well as his evidence of postconviction

rehabilitation. In terms of evidence of rehabilitation, Williams

noted that he had an “excellent” prison record with no disciplinary

problems, he mentored other inmates, he completed over 500

hours of educational programming, he had no other felony

convictions and was not a danger to society, and he had maintained

positive business and personal relationships in society so that he

would be a productive member upon release. In terms of

compassionate release, Williams alleged that he was “healthy,” but

had been recently diagnosed as “pre-diabetic,” with high A1C levels

and “high sodium.” He maintained that “[a] home diet would

substantially improve these conditions.”

The district court dismissed the motion in part and denied it

in part. First, the district court concluded that, to the extent

Williams sought a sentence reduction based on Concepcion, “the

present motion [was] effectively [an unauthorized] successive

petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255” over which the court lacked

jurisdiction. Second, as for Williams’s request for a sentence

reduction under § 3582(c)(1)(A), the district court denied his

motion because he had not exhausted his administrative remedies

and he did not satisfy the definition of “extraordinary and

compelling reasons” set forth in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13. This appeal

followed.

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II. Discussion

Williams argues that the district court abused its discretion

by (1) construing his § 3582(c) motion as a second or successive

§ 2255 motion to vacate sentence; (2) addressing sua sponte

whether he had exhausted his administrative remedies; and

(3) failing to consider his arguments concerning intervening

changes in the law and his rehabilitation as required by Concepcion.

We review de novo whether a defendant is eligible for an 18

U.S.C. § 3582(c) sentence reduction. United States v. Bryant, 996

F.3d 1243, 1251 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 583 (2021). We

review a district court’s denial of a movant’s § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion

for abuse of discretion. United States v. Harris, 989 F.3d 908, 911

(11th Cir. 2021).

Generally, a court “may not modify a term of imprisonment

once it has been imposed.” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c). Section

3582(c)(1)(A), however, provides the following limited exception:

the court, upon motion of the Director of the [BOP],

or upon motion of the defendant after the defendant

has fully exhausted all administrative rights . . . may

reduce the term of imprisonment . . ., after

considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to

the extent that they are applicable, if it finds that . . .

extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a

reduction . . . and that such a reduction is consistent

with applicable policy statements issued by the

Sentencing Commission.

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Id. § 3582(c)(1)(A). 2 Thus, the district court may reduce a movant’s

imprisonment term if: (1) there are extraordinary and compelling

reasons for doing so, (2) the factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)

favor doing so, and (3) doing so is consistent with the policy

statements in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13. United States v. Tinker, 14 F.4th

1234, 1237 (11th Cir. 2021). If the district court finds against the

movant on any one of these requirements, it cannot grant relief,

and need not analyze the other requirements. United States v. Giron,

15 F.4th 1343, 1347–48 (11th Cir. 2021); Tinker, 14 F.4th at 1237–38

(explaining that “nothing on the face of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)

requires a court to conduct the compassionate-release analysis in

any particular order”).

The Sentencing Commission defines “extraordinary and

compelling reasons” in Application Note 1 to U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13.

Pursuant to this definition, there are four circumstances under

which “extraordinary and compelling reasons exist”: (A) the

defendant suffers from (i) “a terminal illness” or (ii) a permanent

health condition “that substantially diminishes the ability of the

defendant to provide self-care within the environment of a

correctional facility from which he or she is not expected to

recover”; (B) the defendant is “at least 65 years old,” “is

2 “In 2018, Congress passed and the President signed the First Step Act.”

Bryant, 996 F.3d at 1248. Section 603(b) of the First Step Act amended § 3582(c)

and “expanded who could file a motion for a sentence reduction” by

permitting prisoners to file their own motions. Id. at 1250; see also The First

Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-391, § 603(b), 132 Stat. 5194, 5239 (amending

18 U.S.C. § 3582).

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experiencing a serious [age-related] deterioration in physical or

mental health,” and “has served at least 10 years or 75 percent of

his or her term of imprisonment, whichever is less”; (C) the

defendant’s assistance is needed in caring for the defendant’s minor

child, spouse, or registered partner due to (i) “[t]he death or

incapacitation of the caregiver of the defendant’s minor child or

minor children” or (ii) “[t]he incapacitation of the defendant’s

spouse or registered partner”; and (D) there exist “other”

extraordinary and compelling reasons “[a]s determined by the

Director of the [BOP].” See U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 cmt. (n.1 (A)–(D)).

“[D]istrict courts are bound by the Commission’s definition of

‘extraordinary and compelling reasons’ found in [§] 1B1.13.”

Bryant, 996 F.3d at 1262; see also Giron, 15 F.4th at 1346 (“[T]he only

circumstances that can rise to the level of extraordinary and

compelling reasons for compassionate release are limited to those

extraordinary and compelling reasons as described by [§] 1B1.13.”).

Under the prior-panel-precedent rule, we are bound by the

holdings of Bryant and Giron unless they have been “overruled or

undermined to the point of abrogation by the Supreme Court or

by this court sitting en banc.” United States v. Archer, 531 F.3d 1347,

1352 (11th Cir. 2008). “To conclude that we are not bound by a

prior holding in light of a Supreme Court case, we must find that

the case is ‘clearly on point’ and that it ‘actually abrogate[s] or

directly conflict[s] with, as opposed to merely weaken[s], the

holding of the prior panel.’” United States v. Dudley, 5 F.4th 1249,

1265 (11th Cir. 2021), cert. denied 142 S. Ct. 1376 (2022), (alterations

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in original) (quoting United States v. Kaley, 579 F.3d 1246, 1255 (11th

Cir. 2009)).

Here, the gravamen of Williams’s argument is that

Concepcion changed the framework and analysis that the district

court must conduct when deciding motions for a sentence

reduction under § 3582(c), but his reliance on Concepcion is

misplaced. In Concepcion, the Supreme Court discussed the factors

that a district court must consider when deciding sentence-

reduction motions for crack-cocaine convictions under § 404 of the

First Step Act. 142 S. Ct. at 2401–04. The Court held that when a

district court was deciding whether to exercise its discretion and

award an eligible defendant a sentence reduction, it could

“consider other intervening changes of law . . . or changes of fact,”

reasoning that there were no statutory constraints in place that

prevented district courts from considering such information. Id. at

2396, 2400. But Williams was not convicted of a crack-cocaine

offense and is not an eligible defendant seeking a sentence

reduction under § 404 of the First Step Act. Instead, he is seeking a

sentence reduction under the compassionate release provisions of

§ 603(b) of the First Step Act. Because Concepcion did not address

compassionate release motions, it is not directly on point and does

not directly conflict with or abrogate our precedent in Bryant and

its progeny that, in determining whether a defendant is eligible for

a sentence reduction under the compassionate release provisions,

the district court is limited to “the Commission’s definition of

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‘extraordinary and compelling reasons’ found in [§] 1B1.13.”

Bryant, 996 F.3d at 1262; Dudley, 5 F.4th at 1265. 3

Moreover, in Concepcion, the Supreme Court noted that

Congress may cabin what district courts may consider when

sentencing (or resentencing) a defendant, and it expressly cited the

compassionate release statute as an example: “For [§ 3582(c)]

proceedings, Congress expressly cabined district courts’ discretion

by requiring courts to abide by the Sentencing Commission’s

policy statements.” Concepcion, 142 S. Ct. at 2401. This statement

is consistent with our decision in Bryant. 996 F.3d at 1262.

Because Concepcion did not change the analysis for

determining whether a movant is eligible for a § 3582(c) sentence

reduction, it had no application to Williams’s case and the district

3 We note that several of our sister circuits to have considered this issue have

concluded similarly that Concepcion does not bear on the initial question of

whether the movant is eligible for compassionate release—i.e., whether the

movant has establish an extraordinary and compelling reason for release. See,

e.g., United States v. Rodriguez-Mendez, 65 F.4th 1000, 1003–04 (8th Cir. 2023);

United States v. King, 40 F.4th 594, 596 (7th Cir. 2022), cert. denied King v. United

States, No. 22-5878, 2023 WL 3046170 (U.S. Apr. 24, 2023); United States v.

McCall, 56 F.4th 1048, 1061–62 (6th Cir. 2022) (en banc), cert. denied McCall v.

United States, No. 22-7210, 2023 WL 3571586 (U.S. May 22, 2023); United States

v. Jenkins, 50 F.4th 1185, 1200 (D.C. Cir. 2022); But see United States v. Chen, 48

F.4th 1092, 1099 (9th Cir. 2022) (holding that Concepcion supported the Ninth

Circuit’s precedent which permits district courts to consider “an extraordinary

and compelling reason a defendant might raise, including . . . non-retroactive

changes in sentencing law”).

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court was not required to consider the changes in law or evidence

of rehabilitation proffered by Williams in determining whether

there were extraordinary and compelling reasons for a reduction

under § 1B1.13. Accordingly, to the extent that Williams argued

for a reduction based on Concepcion and other changes in the law,

he was in essence collaterally attacking his conviction and

sentence. A prisoner cannot use § 3582(c)(2) as a vehicle to

collaterally attack their conviction or sentence. Rather, “a § 2255

motion is the exclusive remedy for a federal prisoner to collaterally

attack his conviction and sentence . . . .” Antonelli v. Warden, U.S.P.

Atl., 542 F.3d 1348, 1351 n.1 (11th Cir. 2008). Williams had

previously filed a § 2255 motion and had not sought leave from this

Court to file a second or successive § 2255 motion. See 28 U.S.C.

§§ 2244(b)(3), 2255(h). Consequently, the district court lacked

jurisdiction to consider his collateral challenge to his conviction

and sentence. See Farris v. United States, 333 F.3d 1211, 1216 (11th

Cir. 2003) (holding that, without the necessary authorization from

the appropriate court of appeals, “the district court lacks

jurisdiction to consider a second or successive petition”). Thus, the

district court did not err in dismissing in part the motion as an

unauthorized successive § 2255 motion.

Furthermore, the district court did not abuse its discretion

in denying his motion for a sentence reduction under

§ 3582(c)(1)(A). In order to be eligible for such a reduction,

Williams needed to show an extraordinary or compelling reason

under § 1B1.13. He did not. Aside from the changes in law and his

evidence of rehabilitation, which as discussed above are not

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relevant to the threshold eligibility determination, Williams

alleged that he was “healthy,” and that he had been diagnosed as

being pre-diabetic with high A1C and sodium. He did not allege

that those health conditions substantially diminished his ability to

provide self-care in prison or that he was not expected to recover

from those conditions. Thus, he did not satisfy § 1B1.13(A). Nor

did he include any other allegations that would satisfy subsections

(B)–(C) of § 1B1.13. And the BOP did not determine that other

extraordinary and compelling reasons existed in Williams’s case for

purposes of subsection (D). The absence of an extraordinary and

compelling reason as defined in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 foreclosed

Williams’s motion for a sentence reduction. See Tinker, 14 F.4th at

1237–38. Consequently, the district court did not abuse its

discretion in denying his motion.4

AFFIRMED.

4 Because we conclude that Williams failed to establish the existence of an

extraordinary and compelling reason for purposes of compassionate release, it

is unnecessary for us to address his argument concerning the exhaustion of

administrative remedies.