Opinion ID: 71503
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Denial of the Downward Departure

Text: 86 Brenson requested a downward departure under § 5K2.0 based on his minimal role in the offenses committed by Fernandez and argues that the district court erred in refusing to provide him with the downward departure. Brenson's assertion is based on his belief that he was not eligible for a downward adjustment under § 3B1.2 because he was the sole participant in the offense committed. Based on the assumption that Brenson was treated as an accessory to the offense committed by Fernandez under § 2X3.1, Brenson argues that he qualifies as a participant under § 3B1.2 for those offenses and his minimal role in the vast criminal enterprise of Fernandez should be considered. 87 The threshold determination to be made by this court is whether we have jurisdiction to decide this issue. 88 The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, 18 U.S.C. § 3551 et seq., prohibits a defendant from appealing a sentencing judge's refusal to make a downward departure from the guidelines sentencing range. Nonetheless, review is available for a sentencing challenge based upon the district court's belief that it had no authority to depart from the sentencing guideline range. 89 United States v. Patterson, 15 F.3d 169, 171 (11th Cir.1994). This court has no jurisdiction to review the denial of Brenson's request for a downward departure unless the sentencing court denied the downward departure based upon a misapprehension of its own discretionary authority to depart downward. Patterson, 15 F.3d at 171. 90 Obviously the district court understood its discretion under § 5K2.0 to provide a downward departure under limited circumstances when it invited the defendant to file a motion for a downward departure. After continuing the sentencing hearing and reviewing the submissions by both parties as to a possible downward departure, the court responded by stating I have no choice but to follow the law, and I think my reading of the law requires me to deny the defendant's motion for a downward departure. (R14-9.) Neither this statement, nor anything else in the transcript of the sentencing proceedings, indicates that the district court misunderstood its authority to depart downward. To the contrary, the transcript of the sentencing proceedings illustrates that after reviewing the arguments of the parties and despite the district court's personal desire to minimize the sentence imposed, the district court was unable to satisfy himself that the facts before him justified a departure downward from the guideline range. Accordingly, this court lacks jurisdiction to review the denial of the downward departure. 91