Opinion ID: 4017407
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Reasonableness of Medina’s Sentence

Text: Medina’s final contention is that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. We review the reasonableness of a sentence under a deferential abuse of discretion standard. 3 Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). “[I]t is only the rare sentence that will be substantively unreasonable.” United States v. Rosales-Bruno, 789 F.3d 1249, 1256 (11th Cir. 2015) (internal quotation marks omitted). Where, as here, a sentence is within the guidelines range, we ordinarily expect it to be reasonable. United States v. Hunt, 526 F.3d 739, 746 (11th Cir. 2008). That a sentence is below the statutory maximum is a factor favoring its reasonableness. See United States v. Gonzalez, 550 F.3d 1319, 1324 (11th Cir. 2008). The party challenging the sentence bears the burden of establishing that the sentence is unreasonable. United States v. Tome, 611 F.3d 1371, 1378 (11th Cir. 2010). In reviewing the reasonableness of a sentence, we first ensure that the district court committed no significant procedural error, and then we examine whether the sentence was substantively unreasonable based on the totality of the circumstances. Gall, 552 U.S. at 51. As Medina does not contend that the district 3 The government contends that Medina’s challenge to the substantive reasonableness of his sentence is subject to plain error review because he did not raise an objection to the reasonableness of his sentence before the district court. But to our knowledge, we have yet to decide in a published opinion whether we review the substantive reasonableness of a defendant’s sentence for plain error if the defendant failed to raise any objection before the district court. Regardless, we need not decide whether plain error review would apply in this case because, as explained below, Medina’s sentence is reasonable under the abuse of discretion standard. 12 Case: 15-12346 Date Filed: 07/20/2016 Page: 13 of 16 court committed a procedural error, we need only consider whether his sentence was substantively unreasonable. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), the district court must impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes set forth in § 3553(a)(2), including promoting respect for the law, deterring criminal conduct, and protecting the public from the defendant’s future criminal conduct. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2). The court must also consider the nature and circumstances of the offense, the history and characteristics of the defendant, the kinds of sentences available, the applicable guidelines range, the pertinent policy statements of the Sentencing Commission, the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities, and the need to provide restitution to victims. Id. § 3553(a)(1), (3)-(7). A district court abuses its discretion and imposes a substantively unreasonable sentence if it “(1) fails to afford consideration to relevant factors that were due significant weight, (2) gives significant weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, or (3) commits a clear error of judgment in considering the proper factors.” Rosales-Bruno, 789 F.3d at 1256 (internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, deciding whether a district court has imposed a substantively unreasonable sentence involves an inquiry into whether the statutory factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) support the sentence. See Gonzalez, 550 F.3d at 1324. “The weight to be accorded any given § 3553(a) factor is a matter committed to the sound 13 Case: 15-12346 Date Filed: 07/20/2016 Page: 14 of 16 discretion of the district court . . . .” United States v. Clay, 483 F.3d 739, 743 (11th Cir. 2007) (internal quotation marks omitted). Medina argues that his sentence was substantially harsher than that received by his co-defendant Hernandez. He reasons that this demonstrates an unwarranted sentencing disparity between the sentence he received and what Hernandez received. While it is true 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6) counsels courts to avoid unwarranted disparities when sentencing defendants, “[d]isparity between the sentences imposed on codefendants is generally not an appropriate basis for relief on appeal.” United States v. Regueiro, 240 F.3d 1321, 1325-26 (11th Cir. 2001). Section 3553(a)(6) “seeks only to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities.” United States v. Statham, 581 F.3d 548, 556 (7th Cir. 2009) (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, “a defendant is not entitled to a lighter sentence merely because his co-defendants received lighter sentences.” United States v. Wallace, 573 F.3d 82, 97 (1st Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks omitted). This is because “adjust[ing] the sentence of a co-defendant in order to cure an apparently unjustified disparity between defendants in an individual case [would] simply create another, wholly unwarranted disparity between the defendant receiving the adjustment and all similar offenders in other cases.” United States v. Chotas, 968 F.2d 1193, 1198 (11th Cir. 1992). 14 Case: 15-12346 Date Filed: 07/20/2016 Page: 15 of 16 Even were we to compare Medina’s sentence to that of Hernandez, Medina has failed to establish that the discrepancy between the sentence he received and the sentence Hernandez received is unwarranted. Medina worked directly under Ramirez, one of the leaders of the conspiracy. And in his role as courier, he transported hundreds of kilograms of narcotics and smuggled millions of dollars in drug proceeds. In contrast, Hernandez was recruited into the conspiracy by family members and had little-to-no understanding of the broader trafficking conspiracy. Although she did transport drug proceeds, she only appears to have done so on approximately three occasions. Given the differences between Hernandez’s conduct and Medina’s conduct, and Medina’s failure to identify any comparable criminal defendant who received a materially different sentence, we can identify no abuse of discretion in the district court’s conclusion that Medina’s conduct warranted a harsher sentence. Even were we to conclude there was an unwarranted disparity between Medina’s sentence and that of Hernandez, we would nonetheless uphold Medina’s sentence as reasonable because he has failed to demonstrate that this disparity outweighed the other § 3553(a) factors. The need to avoid sentencing disparities is only one of several factors district courts consider when sentencing a defendant. See 18 U.S.C. 3553(a). And district courts are entitled to decide the weight accorded to each factor. Clay, 483 F.3d at 743. Aside from pointing to 15 Case: 15-12346 Date Filed: 07/20/2016 Page: 16 of 16 Hernandez’s sentence, Medina presents no reason to believe that his sentence is substantively unreasonable given all of the other § 3553(a) factors. If anything, the fact that his sentence is within the guidelines range counsels in favor of its reasonableness, as does the fact that his sentence is below the statutory maximum. See Hunt, 526 F.3d at 746; see also Gonzalez, 550 F.3d at 1324. As such, Medina has not satisfied his burden of showing that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. See Tome, 611 F.3d at 1378.