FI L ED U.S. COURT OF APPEAL S EL EVENTH CI RCUI T NOVEMB ER 29, 2010
J OHN L EY CL ERK [ D O N O T P U B L I S H ]

I N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S C O U R T O F A P P E A L S

F O R T H E E L E V E N T H C I R C U I T

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

N o

. 0 9

- 1 4 9 1 0 N o n

- A r g u m e n t C a l e n d a r

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

D

. C

. D o c k e t N o

. 9 0

- 0 0 1 4 5

- C R

- 1

- C B

U N I T E D S T A T E S O F A M E R I C A
,

P l a i n t i f f

- A p p e l l e e ,

v e r s u s

A L L E N J A M E S S T A R K S
, a

. k

. a

. B i g A l

,

D e f e n d a n t

- A p p e l l a n t

.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A p p e a l f r o m t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s D i s t r i c t C o u r t f o r t h e S o u t h e r n D i s t r i c t o f A l a b a m a

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ( N o v e m b e r 2 9
, 2 0 1 0 )

B e f o r e B A R K E T T
, H U L L a n d M A R C U S
, C i r c u i t J u d g e s

.

P E R C U R I A M :

A l l e n J a m e s S t a r k s , a f

e d e r a l p r i s o n e r c o n v i c t e d o f a c r a c k c o c a i n e o f f e n s e ,a p p e a l s p r o s e t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t ’ s d e n i a l o f h i s 1 8 U

. S

. C

. § 3 5 8 2 ( c ) ( 2 ) m o t i o n f o r a

s e n t e n c e r e d u c t i o n

. A f

t e r r e v i e w , w e a f

f i r m

. 1

U n d e r § 3 5 8 2 ( c ) ( 2 )

, a d i s t r i c t c o u r t h a s t h e a u t h o r i t y t o m o d i f y a d e f e n d a n t ’ s

t e r m o f i m p r i s o n m e n t i f t h e d e f e n d a n t ’ s s e n t e n c e w a s “ b a s e d o n a s e n t e n c i n g r a n g e

t h a t h a s s u b s e q u e n t l y b e e n l o w e r e d b y t h e S e n t e n c i n g C o m m i s s i o n p u r s u a n t t o 2 8

U

. S

. C

. [ § ] 9 9 4 ( o )

. ” 1 8 U

. S

. C

. § 3 5 8 2 ( c ) ( 2 ) ; s e e a l s o U

. S

. S

. G

. § 1 B 1

. 1 0 ( a ) ( 1 )

- ( 2 )

.

S t a r k s ’ s § 3 5 8 2 ( c ) ( 2 ) m o t i o n i s b a s e d o n A m e n d m e n t 7 0 6 t o U

. S

. S

. G

. § 2 D 1

. 1
,

w h i c h l o w e r e d t h e b a s e o f f e n s e l e v e l s a p p l i c a b l e t o m o s t c r a c k c o c a i n e o f f e n s e s

.

S e e U

. S

. S

. G

. a p p

. C
, a m e n d s

. 7 0 6
, 7 1 3

.

H e r e , t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t d e n i e d S t a r k s ’ s § 3 5 8 2 ( c ) ( 2 ) m o t i o n a f t e r c o n c l u d i n g

t h a t A m e n d m e n t 7 0 6 w a s i n a p p l i c a b l e t o S t a r k s

. T h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t b a s e d t h i s

c o n c l u s i o n o n t h e e r r o n e o u s b e l i e f t h a t S t a r k s ’ s o f f e n s e i n v o l v e d p o w d e r c o c a i n e ,

n o t c r a c k c o c a i n e

. I n f

a c t , a j u r y c o n v i c t e d S t a r k s o f c o n s p i r a c y t o p o s s e s s w i t h

i n t e n t t o d i s t r i b u t e b o t h p o w d e r a n d c r a c k c o c a i n e

. 2

We “re view de novo a

district court’s c onclusions about the scope of its leg al authority 1 under 18 U .S.C. § 3582(c)(2) .” United States v. James, 548 F.3d 983, 984 (11th Cir. 2008). Even if a district court er

rs during § 3582(c) (2) pr ocee dings, w e will aff irm if the er

ror is harmless. See Fe d. R. Crim. P . 52(a) ; United States v. J ackson, 613 F .3d 1305, 1310 n.7 (11th Cir. 2010).

Starks was the le ader

of a ve ry larg e cr ack c ocaine distribution ring in Montgome ry , 2 Albama that pur chase d powder coca ine and c onverte d it to crac k coca ine for distribution in Alabama , Florida , Geor g ia and Mississippi. I n addition to his drug c onspiracy conviction (c ount one), the jury

found Starks g uilty

of structuring financ ial transac tions to avoid reporting require ments (count thre e) a nd money launder ing ( counts four a nd five). Star

ks rec eived a

life
sentenc e on count one , a conc urre nt 60-month sentence on count three and conc urre nt 240-

2T h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t ’ s e r r o r a p p e a r s t o s t e m f r o m t h e f a c t t h a t t h e P r e s e n t e n c e

I n v e s t i g a t i o n R e p o r t ( “ P S I ” ) c o n v e r t e d t h e c r a c k c o c a i n e q u a n t i t i e s i n t o p o w d e r

c o c a i n e e q u i v a l e n t s ( u s i n g a 1 0 0 t o 1 r a t i o ) t o c a l c u l a t e S t a r k s ’ s g u i d e l i n e s r a n g e

.

A t s e n t e n c i n g , t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t f o u n d t h a t S t a r k s w a s d i r e c t l y i n v o l v e d w i t h o v e r

1 0
, 4 0 0 k i l o g r a m s o f p o w d e r c o c a i n e b a s e d o n t r i a l t e s t i m o n y f r o m a c o

- c o n s p i r a t o r

t o w h o m S t a r k s h a d d i s t r i b u t e d a t o t a l o f 1 0 4 k i l o g r a m s o f c r a c k c o c a i n e

.

A l t h o u g h t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t ’ s b a s i s f o r d e n y i n g S t a r k s ’ s § 3 5 8 2 ( c ) ( 2 ) m o t i o n w a s

e r r o r , t h a t e r r o r w a s h a r m l e s s b e c a u s e , e v e n t h o u g h A m e n d m e n t 7 0 6 a p p l i e d t o

S t a r k s ’ s c r a c k c o c a i n e o f f e n s e , t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t n o n e t h e l e s s l a c k e d a u t h o r i t y t o

m o d i f y S t a r k s ’ s s e n t e n c e

.

A t S t a r k s ’ s s e n t e n c i n g , t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t a s s i g n e d S t a r k s a b a s e o f f e n s e l e v e l

o f 4 2 b a s e d o n t h e D r u g Q u a n t i t y T a b l e

. S e e U

. S

. S

. G

. § 2 D 1

. 1 ( c ) ( 1 ) ( 1 9 9 1 )

( p r o v i d i n g f

o r a n o f f e n s e l e v e l o f 4 2 f

o r a d r u g q u a n t i t y o f “ 1 5 0 0 K G o r m o r e ” o f

p o w d e r c o c a i n e o r “ 1 5 K G o r m o r e ” o f c r a c k c o c a i n e )

. H o w e v e r , a f t e r o f f e n s e

l e v e l a d j u s t m e n t s f

o r h i s l e a d e r s h i p r o l e ( f

o u r l e v e l s ) a n d o b s t r u c t i o n o f j u s t i c e

( t w o l e v e l s )

, S t a r k s ’ s t o t a l o f f e n s e l e v e l w a s 4 8

. B e c a u s e t h e n , a s n o w , t h e h i g h e s t

o f f e n s e l e v e l i n t h e S e n t e n c i n g T a b l e i s 4 3
, t h e S e n t e n c i n g G u i d e l i n e s i n s t r u c t e d

t h a t a n y o f

f e n s e l e v e l a b o v e 4 3 w a s t r e a t e d a s a n o f f e n s e l e v e l 4 3

. S e e U

. S

. S

. G

.

month sentence s on counts four a nd five.

3c h

. 5
, p t

. A
, n

. 2 ( 1 9 9 1 )

. W i t h a c r i m i n a l h i s t o r y c a t e g o r y o f I I a n d a t o t a l o f f e n s e

l e v e l o f 4 3
, S t a r k s ’ s g u i d e l i n e s r a n g e w a s l i f e i m p r i s o n m e n t

.

A f t e r A m e n d m e n t 7 0 6
, S t a r k s ’ s a p p l i c a b l e b a s e o f f e n s e l e v e l w a s l o w e r e d t o

l e v e l 3 8

. S e e U

. S

. S

. G

. § 2 D 1

. 1 ( c ) ( 1 ) ( 2 0 0 9 ) ( p r o v i d i n g f o r a b a s e o f

f e n s e l e v e l o f

3 8 f o r a n o f f e n s e i n v o l v i n g “ 1 5 0 K G o r m o r e ” o f p o w d e r c o c a i n e o r “ 4

. 5 K G o r

m o r e ” o f c r a c k c o c a i n e )

. L e a v i n g a l l o f S t a r k s ’ s o t h e r g u i d e l i n e s c a l c u l a t i o n s

i n t a c t , h i s t o t a l o f

f e n s e l e v e l w a s l o w e r e d t o 4 4
, w h i c h i s t r e a t e d a s l e v e l 4 3
, a n d

y i e l d s t h e s a m e g u i d e l i n e s r a n g e o f l i f e i m p r i s o n m e n t

. S e e U

. S

. S

. G

. c h

. 5
, p t

. A
,

S e n t e n c i n g T a b l e ( 2 0 0 9 )

. B e c a u s e S t a r k s ’ s a m e n d e d g u i d e l i n e s r a n g e w o u l d b e

t h e s a m e a s h i s o r i g i n a l g u i d e l i n e s r a n g e , t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t l a c k e d t h e a u t h o r i t y

u n d e r § 3 5 8 2 ( c ) ( 2 ) t o r e d u c e S t a r k s ’ s s e n t e n c e

. S e e U

. S

. S

. G

. § 1 B 1

. 1 0 ( a ) ( 2 ) ( B )

( p r o v i d i n g t h a t a § 3 5 8 2 ( c ) ( 2 ) r e d u c t i o n i s n o t a u t h o r i z e d i f a n a m e n d m e n t d o e s

n o t l o w e r t h e a p p l i c a b l e g u i d e l i n e s r a n g e ; s e e a l s o U n i t e d S t a t e s v

. W e b b

, 5 6 5 F

. 3 d

7 8 9
, 7 9 3 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 9 )

.

S t a r k s ’ s § 3 5 8 2 ( c ) ( 2 ) m o t i o n a l s o c i t e d A m e n d m e n t 5 9 1
, w h i c h

, i n r e l e v a n t

p a r t , a m e n d e d t h e c o m m e n t a r y t o U

. S

. S

. G

. § 2 D 1

. 2

. S e c t i o n 2 D 1

. 2 p r o v i d e s b a s e

o f f e n s e l e v e l s f

o r o f f e n s e s o c c u r r i n g i n p r o t e c t e d l o c a t i o n s o r i n v o l v i n g m i n o r s o r

p r e g n a n t i n d i v i d u a l s

. S e e U

. S

. S

. G

. § 2 D 1

. 2

. A m e n d m e n t 5 9 1 c l a r i f i e d t h a t §

2 D 1

. 2 a p p l i e d o n l y i f t h e d e f e n d a n t i s c o n v i c t e d o f a n o f f e n s e “ r e f e r e n c e d t o ” §

42 D 1

. 2 a n d n o t u p o n a j u d i c i a l f i n d i n g t h a t t h e d e f

e n d a n t w a s i n v o l v e d i n s u c h

c o n d u c t

. U

. S

. S

. G

. a p p

. C
, a m e n d

. 5 9 1 ; s e e a l s o U n i t e d S t a t e s v

. M o r e n o , 4 2 1 F

. 3 d

1 2 1 7
, 1 2 1 9 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 5 )

.

W e f i n d n o m e r i t t o S t a r k s ’ s a r g u m e n t t h a t t h e d i s t r i c t c o u r t v i o l a t e d C l i s b y

v

. J o n e s , 9 6 0 F

. 2 d 9 2 5 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 1 9 9 2 ) ( e n b a n c ) b y f a i l i n g t o a d d r e s s e x p l i c i t l y

w h e t h e r A m e n d m e n t 5 9 1 a u t h o r i z e d a s e n t e n c e r e d u c t i o n

. W e h a v e n e v e r a p p l i e d

C l i s b y o u t s i d e t h e h a b e a s c o n t e x t

. S e e C l i s b y , 9 6 0 F

. 3 d a t 9 3 6 ( b a r r i n g t h e d i s t r i c t

c o u r t ’ s p i e c e m e a l r e s o l u t i o n o f c l a i m s r a i s e d i n a § 2 2 5 5 m o t i o n )

. F u r t h e r m o r e ,

A m e n d m e n t 5 9 1 i s i n a p p l i c a b l e b e c a u s e S t a r k s ’ s o f f e n s e l e v e l w a s n o t c a l c u l a t e d

u s i n g U

. S

. S

. G

. § 2 D 1

. 2

. S e e M o r e n o , 4 2 1 F

. 3 d a t 1 2 1 9

. T h u s , A m e n d m e n t 5 9 1

p r o v i d e d n o b a s i s f

o r r e d u c i n g S t a r k s ’ s s e n t e n c e

. 3

A F F I R M E D

.

To the extent St arks wa s attempting to c halleng e the district cour t’s orig inal sentenc ing 3 deter minations as to his relevant conduc t, such claims ar e outside the scope of his § 3582(c) (2) motion. S ee U nited States v. Br avo, 203 F .3d 778, 781 (11th Cir. 2000) (e x plaining tha t, with the exception of the pa

rticular g uideline cha

ng ed by the amendme nt, all orig inal sentenc ing deter minations remain uncha

ng ed).

5