Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca3-09-02286/USCOURTS-ca3-09-02286-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Dion Muth
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

 

No. 09-2286

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v.

DION MUTH,

 Appellant.

 

On Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

(D. C. No. 1-06-cr-00170-001)

 District Judge: Hon. Sylvia H. Rambo

 

Submitted under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)

on November 17, 2009

Before: AMBRO, ALDISERT and ROTH, Circuit Judge

(Opinion filed: March 24, 2010)

 

O P I N I O N 

 

ROTH, Circuit Judge:

Dion Muth appeals the denial of his motion for a sentence reduction under 18

U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). The District Court had jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3231, and this

Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Our review of the District Court’s

Case: 09-2286 Document: 003110072124 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/24/2010
2

interpretation of the Sentencing Guidelines is de novo, and our review of its decision to

deny Muth’s sentence reduction is for abuse of discretion. United States v. Mateo, 560

F.3d 152, 154 (3d Cir. 2009). 

Because we write primarily for the parties, we only briefly recite the facts. Muth

pleaded guilty to charges of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and powder

cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The United States Probation Office

calculated a base offense level of 30 for this crime and an offense level of 32 under the

Career Offender enhancement, U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. The District Court applied the higher

offense level of 32, pursuant to § 4B1.1(b), in sentencing Muth to 150 months. 

Subsequently, the United States Sentencing Commission retroactively amended the

guidelines concerning crack cocaine, generally reducing the base offense levels by two. 

U.S.S.G.App. C, Amend. 706 (Nov. 1, 2007). Muth then moved for a sentence reduction

under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) based on that amendment. The District Court found that

Amendment 706 did not apply to Muth, since his sentence was based on the Career

Offender enhancement and not his crack cocaine conviction, consistent with this Court’s

Mateo decision.

This Court determined in Mateo that Amendment 706 does not apply to career

offenders because their sentences are based on the Career Offender enhancements instead

of the crack cocaine offense levels. 560 F.3d at 155. Muth acknowledges that Mateo is

controlling, but he appeals this decision for the purpose of preserving this issue for future

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3

review. Because Mateo is clear and controlling, we will affirm the judgment of the

District Court. 

Case: 09-2286 Document: 003110072124 Page: 3 Date Filed: 03/24/2010