Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-03-03352/USCOURTS-ca8-03-03352-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Amber Rae Forbes
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

1

The Honorable Laurie Smith Camp, United States District Judge for the

District of Nebraska.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 03-3352

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the District

v. * of Nebraska.

*

Amber Rae Forbes, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: September 13, 2004

Filed: October 1, 2004

___________

Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, BEAM, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Amber Forbes pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possessing with

intent to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Under the

terms of her plea agreement, the government agreed to make a Federal Rule of

Criminal Procedure 35 motion for downward departure once Forbes's anticipated

cooperation was complete. At sentencing in August 2003, the government had not

yet filed its Rule 35 motion, and the district court1

 sentenced Forbes to fifty-seven

months' imprisonment and three years of supervised release.

Appellate Case: 03-3352 Page: 1 Date Filed: 10/01/2004 Entry ID: 1817551 
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Forbes unsuccessfully objected to the sentence, arguing that because she had

not yet finished cooperating and the Rule 35 motion could not yet be granted, the

government should have filed a motion for downward departure under U.S.S.G. §

5K1 for substantial assistance at the time of sentencing. Forbes timely filed her

appeal, arguing that the district court should have departed downward because she

had made herself available for Rule 35 assistance. Forbes also argues that the

government should have been required to file a Section 5K1 motion.

In December 2003, Forbes fulfilled her cooperation, and the government

subsequently filed a Rule 35 motion. In January 2004, the district court resentenced

Forbes to eighteen months' imprisonment and three years of supervised release.

Because Forbes has already been granted the relief she requests, we dismiss her

appeal as moot. Mark v. Nix, 983 F.2d 138, 140 (8th Cir.1993) (per curiam)

(declining to address the merits of a claim where doing so would not affect the rights

of the parties and would therefore constitute an advisory opinion).

______________________________

Appellate Case: 03-3352 Page: 2 Date Filed: 10/01/2004 Entry ID: 1817551