Opinion ID: 2976174
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Reasonableness of Tate’s sentence

Text: The final argument advanced by Tate in challenging the district court’s judgment is that the above-Guidelines sentence is unreasonable. Tate emphasizes the fact that the district court imposed “the most severe ‘variance’ possible,” but the bulk of his argument centers once again on the fact that the district court mentioned Tate’s UCC arguments in the course of discussing the § 3553(a) factors. According to Tate, “[a] review of the entire record clearly reveals that the district court’s frustration with Mr. Tate, expressed on the record months before trial, caused a knee jerk reaction.” This court reviews sentences for both procedural and substantive reasonableness. United States v. Thomas, 498 F.3d 336, 339 (6th Cir. 2007). Aside from the objections Tate raised based on Rule 32, discussed above, Tate does not challenge the procedural reasonableness of the sentence imposed by the district court. We will therefore limit our reasonableness review to whether the above-Guidelines 120-month sentence was substantively reasonable. The touchstone for our review is whether the length of the sentence is reasonable in light of the § 3553(a) factors. See United States v. Cherry, 487 F.3d 366, 370 (6th Cir. 2007). A reviewing court will find that a sentence is substantively unreasonable “where the district court select[s] the sentence arbitrarily, bas[es] the sentence on impermissible factors, fail[s] to consider pertinent § 3553(a) factors, or giv[es] an unreasonable amount of weight to any pertinent factor.” United States v. Ferguson, 456 F.3d 660, 664 (6th Cir. 2006) (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted). Although this court’s presumption of reasonableness applies only to sentences inside of the Guidelines range, there is no presumption against a sentence that falls outside of the range. United States v. Smith, 474 F.3d 888, 892 (6th Cir. 2007). This court has previously applied a form of No. 06-6529 United States v. Tate Page 9 proportionality review to sentences outside the Guidelines range, so that “the greater the variance from the range, the more compelling the justification for variance must be.” Id. The Supreme Court, however, recently held that “while the extent of the difference between a particular sentence and the recommended Guidelines range is surely relevant, courts of appeals must review all sentences—whether inside, just outside, or significantly outside the Guidelines range—under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard.” Gall v. United States, 128 S. Ct. 586, 591 (2007). Tate argues that his sentence is substantively unreasonable because “[t]he district court simply selected the maximum sentence arbitrarily and base [sic] the sentence on Mr. Tate’s assertion of a theory the district court considered nonsense, rather than a balanced, reasoned analysis under § 3553(a).” The government counters by pointing out that, to the contrary, “[t]he court considered the arguments of the parties. The court considered the position papers of the parties. The court considered statements by the defendant. The court also considered the [PSR]. . . . The court considered, in detail, the § 3553 factors.” Our thorough review of the sentencing transcript convinces us that the government’s position is the correct one. As with his argument under Rule 32(h), Tate’s contention that the district court reacted in a “knee jerk” fashion to his UCC-based arguments finds no support in the record. The transcript demonstrates that the district court engaged in a thoughtful and painstakingly detailed review of how the § 3553(a) factors applied to Tate’s case. And the fact that the district court alluded to Tate’s arguments under the UCC, which it mentioned only in support of its conclusion that Tate had continuously refused to accept responsibility for his actions, does not undermine our conclusion that the court carefully weighed the § 3553(a) factors in determining an appropriate sentence. We believe that this court’s decision in Smith, 474 F.3d 888, is instructive. The district court in Smith, unlike the district court in the present case, chose to impose an upward departure pursuant to USSG § 4A1.3 rather than a variance under § 3553(a). This court, however, explained that “our review of a district court’s upward departure to a higher offense level should mirror our analysis of its variance from the guidelines range. Since a district court can employ either and arrive at the same result, we should review both methods with the same scrutiny.” Id. at 893. Our court then concluded that the district court’s sentence was substantively reasonable because the district court not only explained the reasons it was departing upward but it also provided an analysis of the § 3553(a) factors. It examined each of the prior convictions on Smith’s record. It concluded, based on this review, that Smith “has a history of drug abuse, possessing dangerous firearms, and acts of violence against women.” It explained that it chose the sentence it did because Smith “has shown utter disregard for the law throughout the course of his life.” It recognized that the sentence would keep Smith off the street and that that alone was a benefit to the safety of the community. . . . We do not require a rote recitation of § 3553(a) factors but rather an explanation of why the district court chose the sentence it did. The court below examined many of the § 3553(a) factors and attached to them a not unreasonable weight. We conclude that it was within its discretion to impose the sentence it did. Id. at 894 (citations omitted). The circumstances surrounding the sentencing in Smith are remarkably similar to those involving Tate. In the present case, the district court specifically declined to impose an upward departure under § 4A1.3 because it believed that it could obtain a fairer result by weighing the § 3553(a) factors. The court’s explanation of its balancing of these factors supports its decision to No. 06-6529 United States v. Tate Page 10 proceed in that manner. Indeed, far from imposing an arbitrary sentence or placing an unreasonable amount of weight on any one factor, the district court undertook a careful analysis of both the facts and the law. As the district court explained: [Tate has] lived a life of crime. That’s the teaching of the criminal history, both the criminal history and the category, which are a good predictor of recidivism, and the crimes themselves, once one analyzes them, which I have done in detail. .... I do think a sentence above the Guidelines is necessary in this case. The Guidelines, what they suggest through the criminal history are only one part of that. They suggest the need to protect the public. But the nature of the offense, the loaded pistol, the conduct all through this case are significant matters. . . . [The Guidelines] don’t capture that. Mr. Tate has had every opportunity to lead a decent law abiding live [sic], has every ability to do it, has been trained to do it, but choose [sic] not to. In any event, because of the need to protect the public and balance any other factors I’ve stated, I’m going to sentence Mr. Tate to 120 months. . . . It is a sentence that I believe is fair, just, and reasonable under all of these circumstances. The above excerpt, particularly when read in conjunction with the rest of the district court’s detailed discussion of the § 3553(a) factors and of Mr. Tate’s history and circumstances, demonstrates the court’s commanding grasp of Tate’s criminal history and the close attention it paid to the § 3553(a) factors and the policies underlying them. We note, moreover, that the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Gall reinforces our conclusion that the district court did not act unreasonably by varying from the Guidelines in Tate’s case, even though it imposed the statutory maximum sentence. In Gall, the Court explained that an appellate court reviewing a sentence for substantive reasonableness may consider the extent of the deviation, but must give due deference to the district court’s decision that the § 3553(a) factors, on a whole, justify the extent of the variance. The fact that the appellate court might reasonably have concluded that a different sentence was appropriate is insufficient to justify reversal of the district court. Gall v. United States, 128 S. Ct. 586, 597 (2007). The above discussion demonstrates that the district court appropriately weighed the § 3553(a) factors and determined that Tate was deserving of the statutory maximum sentence. On the record before us, we find no reason to question the district court’s judgment in this regard, and therefore conclude that the sentence imposed was reasonable.