Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca5-14-20745/USCOURTS-ca5-14-20745-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Javier Oliva Resendez
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-20745

Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

JAVIER OLIVA RESENDEZ, also known as Javier Oliva-Resendez, also 

known as Javier Ovliva Resendez,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Texas

USDC No. 4:14-CR-491

Before DAVIS, SMITH, and WIENER, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Defendant-Appellant Javier Oliva Resendez (Oliva) appeals the aboveguidelines, 15-month sentence imposed for his illegal reentry conviction. He 

contends that his sentence is substantively unreasonable and greater than 

necessary to satisfy the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors. Oliva claims that the 

district court accorded undue weight to his criminal history.

 

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not 

be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH 

CIR. R. 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

July 6, 2015

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

Case: 14-20745 Document: 00513104813 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/06/2015
No. 14-20745

2

We review the substantive reasonableness of a sentence for abuse of 

discretion. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). “A non-Guideline 

sentence unreasonably fails to reflect the statutory sentencing factors where it 

(1) does not account for a factor that should have received significant weight, 

(2) gives significant weight to an irrelevant or improper factor, or (3) represents 

a clear error of judgment in balancing the sentencing factors.” United States 

v. Smith, 440 F.3d 704, 708 (5th Cir. 2006).

When imposing the upward variance at sentencing, the district court 

cited Oliva’s two prior convictions for assault of a family member and other

evidence of repeated violent behavior by Oliva toward his common-law wife. 

Oliva’s disagreement with the district court’s assessment of this factor is not 

sufficient to show an abuse of discretion. See Gall, 552 U.S. at 51. Moreover,

a court may consider a defendant’s criminal history when imposing a nonGuideline sentence, Smith, 440 F.3d at 709, even though that factor has been 

incorporated into the Guidelines, United States v. Key, 599 F.3d 469, 475 (5th 

Cir. 2010).

The extent of the variance, seven months above the upper guidelines 

range of eight months, is within the range of variances that we have upheld. 

See United States v. McElwee, 646 F.3d 328, 345 (5th Cir. 2011); Key, 599 F.3d 

at 475-76. Given the deference that is due to a district court’s consideration of 

the § 3553(a) factors, see Gall, 552 U.S. at 51, and the district court’s legitimate 

reasons for its sentencing decision, Oliva has not demonstrated that the 

sentence is substantively unreasonable, see Smith, 440 F.3d at 710.

The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

Case: 14-20745 Document: 00513104813 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/06/2015