United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Chicago, Illinois 60604

November 22, 2006

Before

Hon. MICHAEL S. KANNE, Circuit Judge

Hon. DIANE P. WOOD, Circuit Judge

Hon. ANN CLAIRE WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge

No. 03-3625

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

 Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

JOHN GONZALEZ,

 Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States

District Court for the Northern

District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

No. 02 CR 719

James F. Holderman, 

Chief Judge.

O R D E R

John Gonzalez pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine in

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). On October 1, 2003, the district court sentenced

Gonzalez to 188 months’ imprisonment under the then-mandatory United States

Sentencing Guidelines. Gonzalez appealed his sentence, and we issued a limited

remand pursuant to our decision in United States v. Paladino, 401 F.3d 471 (7th Cir.

2005), for a determination of whether the district court would have imposed a different

sentence had it not been constrained by the Guidelines. See United States v. Gonzalez,

No. 03-3625 (7th Cir. July 16, 2006).

UNPUBLISHED ORDER

Not to be cited per Circuit Rule 53
No. 03-3625 Page 2

The district court has now informed us that it would have imposed the same

sentence. We invited both parties to file arguments concerning the appropriate

disposition of the appeal in light of the district court’s decision. Only the government

has done so.

Now that the district court has informed us that it would have imposed the same

sentence even if it had not been bound by the Guidelines, “we will affirm the original

sentence against [Gonzalez’s] plain-error challenge provided that the sentence is

reasonable, the standard of appellate review prescribed by Booker.” Paladino, 401 F.3d

at 484. We have held that sentences falling within the Guidelines range, such as that

received by Gonzalez, are presumptively reasonable. United States v. Mykytiuk, 415

F.3d 606, 608 (7th Cir. 2005). Cf. Rita v. United States, No. 06-5754, 2006 WL 2307774

(U.S. Nov. 3, 2006) (granting writ of certiorari on questions including whether it is

consistent with Booker to accord a presumption of reasonableness to within-Guidelines

sentences). Here, the applicable Guidelines range was 188 to 235 months’

imprisonment. The district court arrived at that sentence based on Gonzalez’s status

as a career offender and an offense level of 31. The district court sentenced Gonzalez

to 188 months’ imprisonment, the low end of the Guidelines range.

On remand, the district court declined Gonzalez’s request to be sentenced

without regard to his status as a career offender. In doing so, the district court

considered the parties’ submissions, the Presentence Investigation Report, the record

of proceedings at the original sentencing hearing, and the factors listed in 18 U.S.C.

§ 3553(a). Ultimately, the district court concluded that the 188-month sentence was

reasonable given Gonzalez’s lengthy criminal history (a history that we note would

place him in criminal history category VI even without the career offender

enhancement), the seriousness of his offense, the need to promote respect for the law,

and the need for just punishment. On this record, we do not find the district court’s

sentence at the low end of the Guidelines range to be unreasonable, particularly when

Gonzalez has offered no compelling justification for deviating from the standard

procedure of considering a defendant’s status as a career offender at sentencing.

Therefore, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.