Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-03-03449/USCOURTS-ca8-03-03449-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
United States of America
Appellee
Kamie Jo Van Zee
Appellant

Document Text:

1

The Honorable Donald E. O'Brien, United States District Judge for the

Northern District of Iowa.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 03-3449

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, * United States District Court 

* for the Northern District

v. * of Iowa.

*

Kamie Jo Van Zee, *

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: June 18, 2004

Filed: July 1, 2004

___________

Before SMITH, BEAM, and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.

___________

BEAM, Circuit Judge.

Kamie Van Zee appeals her sentence for possessing a firearm as a drug user

and possessing methamphetamine. Van Zee asserts the district court1

 erred in

refusing to depart downward. We affirm.

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I. BACKGROUND

 Van Zee was sentenced to state-ordered probation for a felony drug offense

(distributing LSD) in September 1999. In December 2000, she was charged with

disorderly conduct following a bar fight in Sioux Center, Iowa. In December 2001,

Van Zee obtained her father's firearm and threatened to commit suicide. The police

were called, and they discovered she was high on methamphetamine. A pat-down

search of Van Zee revealed methamphetamine. Soon after, Van Zee completed a drug

rehabilitation program and was sent to a half-way house. Van Zee was kicked out of

the half-way house as a result of marijuana use.

In October 2002, federal authorities charged Van Zee, in a three-count

indictment, with being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. §

922(g)(1); possessing a firearm as a drug user in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3);

and possession of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 844(a). Van Zee pled

guilty to one of the firearm counts and the possession count. Before sentencing, Van

Zee moved for a downward departure due to extraordinary rehabilitative efforts. Van

Zee argued that, since the time of her ejection from the half-way house, she has

cleaned up her life, gotten off of drugs, held a steady job with Pizza Hut, and regained

custody of her daughter.

The district court denied the departure, noting that post-offense rehabilitation

departures were reserved for extraordinary cases, not for someone "who had

previously been convicted in state court of a controlled substance and was on

probation and then in December of 2000 was arrested for disorderly conduct and in

December [2001] arrested for possession of a gun and methamphetamine."

(Sentencing Transcript at 38).

Van Zee was sentenced to concurrent sentences of 30 months-imprisonment

plus three years supervised release on Count 2, and 24 months plus one year of

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supervised release on Count 3. Van Zee argues the district court erred in refusing to

depart downward based on extraordinary pre-indictment, post-offense rehabilitative

efforts.

II. DISCUSSION

A decision by the district court not to depart is generally unreviewable, unless

the district court has an unconstitutional motive, or erroneously believed it was

without authority to depart. United States v. Dabney, 367 F.3d 1040, 1044 (8th Cir.

2004). Van Zee argues that the district court did not realize it had the discretion to

depart. We have reviewed the record and disagree. It appears that the district court

felt that this case was not "extraordinary" because Van Zee had an extensive prior

history with drugs. The district court did not have an unconstitutional motive or

erroneously believe it was without authority to depart downward. Thus, its decision

is unreviewable.

III. CONCLUSION

We affirm.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 03-3449 Page: 3 Date Filed: 07/01/2004 Entry ID: 1783585