Opinion ID: 3048972
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Assumptions About the Effect of the Error

Text: in Calculating Gilbert’s Sentence Gilbert’s arguments presume that if Begay and Archer had been on the books when his case arose he would have received a lighter sentence because the career offender enhancement, which those decisions rule out for his case, did increase his mandatory guidelines range. His arguments also presume that if he were resentenced today, which is the relief he is seeking, he would receive a lighter sentence with the career offender enhancement out of the picture. We are not so sure of either proposition. Gilbert’s sentencing occurred in 1997, eight years before the decision in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738 (2005), and while the mandatory guidelines system was still in effect. At sentencing his 1994 conviction for carrying a concealed weapon was counted as a “crime of violence” as that term is used in § 4B1.1 and defined in § 4B1.2(a). The result was that Gilbert was treated as a career offender, which did result in a much higher guidelines range— 292 to 365 months instead of 151 to 188 months. If Begay had begotten Archer before Gilbert was sentenced and his sentence was affirmed on direct appeal, his earlier weapons conviction would not have been treated as a crime of violence under § 4B1.2(a), and he would not have been classified as a career offender under § 4B1.1. As a result, Gilbert would have had a 20 lower guidelines range in that pre-Booker, mandatory guidelines era and would have received a lower sentence if we assume that the government still would have waived its statutory right to have a mandatory life sentence imposed on him. But that is a big assumption. On the possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute charge, Gilbert faced a mandatory life sentence under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A), which requires life imprisonment for anyone who possesses crack cocaine or other drugs with intent to distribute after being convicted of two or more felony drug offenses. The government filed a 21 U.S.C. § 851 notice listing three prior felony drug offenses that Gilbert had been convicted of before he committed the crack cocaine distribution offense in this case, all of which qualified him for the mandatory life sentence. See supra at 9–11. Gilbert never denied the existence or validity of any of the three prior drug convictions listed in the § 851 notice (or any of his other convictions either). By failing to object to the part of the presentence report listing his prior convictions, Gilbert admitted them, see United States v. Bennett, 472 F.3d 825, 833–34 (11th Cir. 2006); United States v. Wade, 458 F.3d 1273, 1277 (11th Cir. 2006), and to this day he has never disputed their validity. If the Begay decision had been on the books when Gilbert was facing these charges, the government would have known that the guidelines range he faced was 21 151 to 188 months instead of 292 to 365 months. Given a minimum sentence that was 141 months lower, the government might well have decided not to waive the § 851 notice and the mandatory life sentence it had an absolute right to insist on under § 841(b)(1)(A). It is one thing not to insist on a life sentence when the defendant is facing at least 292 months without the enhancement, and quite another to forgo it if he might be sentenced to less than half that much time. While the government did waive its right to insist on a mandatory life sentence as part of a plea bargain, the record does not establish that it would have done so if it could not have counted on the career offender enhancement to double the sentence that Gilbert would receive. It is not as though the government needed a guilty plea because there was a risk of acquittal or the trial would have taken a long time. The evidence against Gilbert was overwhelming and the trial would have been short and simple. Two police officers saw Gilbert as he sold crack cocaine out of his car. Soon thereafter, when another officer approached him, Gilbert attempted to flee on foot. The charges against Gilbert were based on crack cocaine that was found in the glove compartment of his car, and marijuana that was bagged for sale and found under the seat. Even if Gilbert had wanted to take the stand and deny it all, there is little or no chance a jury would have believed him given all of the evidence against him and all of his prior convictions. And the fact 22 that Gilbert had brought his little daughter along with him while dealing drugs would have squelched any stray feelings of sympathy that the jury might otherwise have felt for him. The point is that we cannot say with certainty that if Begay and Archer had been the law when Gilbert committed these crimes, he would have received a lesser sentence. Ironically, for the reasons we have just discussed, he might have received an even harsher one. Rather than speculate, however, we will assume for present purposes that if those two decisions had been on the books more than a decade earlier, Gilbert would have received a substantially lighter sentence then than he did—a sentence in the range of 151 to 188 months instead of 292 months.10 That is, however, only an assumption. Gilbert also presumes that if he could just get a new sentence hearing, he will receive a shorter sentence than the one he now has. We have our doubts about 10 Actually, the assumption might extend to an even lower guidelines range. If Gilbert had not been classified as a career offender under § 4B1.1, he would have been eligible for resentencing consideration under Amendment 706. The district court held in Gilbert’s 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c) proceeding that he was ineligible for resentencing under that amendment because it does not apply to career offenders. See United States v. Moore, 541 F.3d 1323, 1330 (11th Cir. 2008). If it were not for Gilbert’s career offender status, under Amendment 706 the district court would have recalculated his guidelines range to 130 to 162 months and then had discretion under § 3582(c)(2) to impose a new sentence after considering the factors set out in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). See United States v. Bravo, 203 F.3d 778, 780–81 (11th Cir. 2000). However, the court also would have had discretion under § 3582(c) to let Gilbert’s original guidelines range and sentence stand. See id. And there are many reasons it might have decided to do so after consulting § 3553(a). See infra at 25–26. 23 that. It is true that if Gilbert is resentenced the calculation of his guidelines range will be free of any Begay/Archer error and he will not be treated as a career offender. His guidelines range will be lower. There is, however, no guarantee that his new sentence under the post-Booker advisory guidelines system will be shorter than 292 months. It could be the same or even longer. There are a number of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors in Gilbert’s case that a sentencing judge could use to vary upward substantially from the advisory guidelines range. After all, in a six-year period when he was between the ages of 19 and 25, Gilbert committed and was convicted of five drug felonies and three weapons felonies. See supra at 6–9. He is an eight-time drug and weapons felon. And his record includes a number of occasions on which he was shown leniency in the form of dropped charges, probationary sentences, or early release. Every time Gilbert received probation, he violated it. Every time charges against him were dropped or he was released early, he immediately went back to his life of crime. And, most disturbing of all, when Gilbert committed the serious drug crimes in this case he took his five-year-old daughter along with him to watch it all. He endangered his little girl by having her in the back seat of the small car in a high crime area as crack addicts climbed into the front seat and bought drugs from him. A sentencing judge could easily decide to vary significantly upwards from 24 the advisory guidelines range in view of: “the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant,” § 3553(a)(1); “the need for the sentence imposed . . . to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment for the offense,” § 3553(a)(2)(A); and the need for the sentence “to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct,” § 3553(a)(2)(B). A sentence of 292 months, or even a life sentence, would not be unreasonable or disproportionate to the crime. See Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957, 1002–03, 111 S.Ct. 2680, 2705–06 (1991) (plurality opinion of Kennedy, J., joined by O’Connor & Souter, JJ.)11 (discussing the great harm that the crime of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute does to society and holding that a life without parole sentence is not disproportionate even for a first time offender); United States v. Villareal, 613 F.3d 1344, 1359–60 (11th Cir. 2010) (upholding as substantively reasonable a 328-month sentence for a defendant convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana); United States v. Chavez, 584 F.3d 1354, 1366 (11th Cir. 2009) (upholding as substantively reasonable a sentence of life imprisonment for a defendant convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and aiding and abetting the possession of a 11 Justice Kennedy’s plurality opinion in Harmelin is the opinion of the Court on the proportionality issue. United States v. Farley, 607 F.3d 1294, 1339–40 & n.30 (11th Cir. 2010). 25 firearm by an illegal alien).12 Nonetheless, because it does not affect our reasoning or the result we reach, we will assume that Gilbert would receive a substantially lower sentence if he were resentenced today, just as we are assuming that his sentence would have been lower when he was sentenced in 1997 if the Begay and Archer decisions had been out at that time. Begay and Archer were not, however, issued before Gilbert was sentenced. They were issued eleven years after Gilbert was sentenced, ten years after we affirmed his sentence on direct appeal, nine years after the Supreme Court denied certiorari review, and five years after his § 2255 motion was denied. Gilbert’s sentence had long since become final before those two decisions were issued. The question we face is whether there is a finality-shattering procedure that allows Gilbert to have his sentence vacated and entitles him to be resentenced all these years later.