Opinion ID: 2973385
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Unreasonableness of the Sentence Imposed

Text: Turning to the second argument, Hope asserts that the court unreasonably attached insufficient weight to certain factors justifying a mitigation in his sentence, namely his mental difficulties and the role that those difficulties played in the offense. Initially, we must determine the precise nature of Hope’s challenge. There are two separate ways Hope’s argument can be characterized: (1) the district court was unreasonable in its decision to not grant a downward departure based upon this evidence; or (2) in light of the highlighted information, the sentence meted out by the district court was unreasonable. -4- No. 05-1201 United States v. Hope As to the first contention, this court has made clear that “the [United States v.] Stewart [306 F.3d 295 (6th Cir. 2002)] standard foreclosing review of a decision not to depart downward survived Booker” and all recent developments in this area. United States v. Puckett, 422 F.3d 340, 344-45 (6th Cir. 2005) (citing United States v. Jones, 417 F.3d 547, 551 n.3 (6th Cir. 2005)). “Therefore . . . we shall not review decisions of a district court not to depart downward ‘unless the record reflects that the district court was not aware of or did not understand its discretion to make such a departure.’” Id. at 345 (quoting Stewart, 306 F.3d at 329). Since Hope does not contend that the district court was unaware of or misunderstood its discretion to depart downward, this claim necessarily fails. Hope’s other potential argument for the unreasonableness of the sentence has three aspects: (1) based upon the mitigation evidence of Hope’s long history of mental difficulties and their connection to the crime, the district court’s sentence was unreasonable; (2) any threat of potential violence was accounted for in the 10 year mandatory minimum sentence he was to receive for the firearm offense and, thus, a reliance upon that factor when issuing the sentence for the robbery count constituted “double counting” and was therefore unreasonable; and (3) the district court “put too much weight” on Hope’s drug and alcohol abuse. Despite Hope’s arguments for unreasonableness, “there is no evidence in the record that the district judge acted unreasonably by, for example, selecting the sentence arbitrarily, basing the sentence on impermissible factors, failing to consider pertinent § 3553(a) factors, or giving an unreasonable amount of weight to any pertinent factors.” Webb, 403 F.3d at 385. Hope’s first objection can be dismissed because the district court considered Hope’s mental state during -5- No. 05-1201 United States v. Hope sentencing. Further, the court explicitly provided for mental health assessment and treatment for Hope in its sentence. See Webb, 403 F.3d at 385 (this court noted that a sentence ordering substance abuse and education programs for the defendant “indicates that at sentencing the district court was concerned not only with ensuring that the imposed sentence protects the public safety, but also that it meets [the defendant’s] needs”). Secondly, Hope offers no authority for his double counting argument. Given the rebuttable presumption afforded a sentence within the Guidelines range, there is no apparent reason why the district court’s consideration of Hope’s likelihood of recidivism and danger to the public is unreasonable. See Williams, --- F.3d ---, 2006 WL 224067, at . Lastly, the district court did emphasize to Hope that he “need[ed] to get away from drugs and get away from alcohol” and, to that effect, ordered him to receive alcohol and substance abuse treatment while in prison. Consideration of a defendant’s chemical dependency status is not inherently unreasonable. See Webb, 403 F.3d at 385 (applauding the district court for taking into account a defendant’s substance abuse problems, noting that the sentence was thereby tailored to the defendant’s needs). Even Hope concedes that he is “not claiming that the sentencing court was wrong to express concern about his abuse.” Given that the district court considered Hope’s substance abuse as one of many factors in sentencing and the Williams presumption, the court’s sentence cannot be deemed unreasonable. AFFIRMED. -6-