Court Opinion

ID: 9377924
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-03-09 01:00:29.687633+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:17.925249
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-10739        Document: 00516670307             Page: 1      Date Filed: 03/08/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________                              United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit

                                                                                      FILED
                                      No. 22-10739                                March 8, 2023
                                    Summary Calendar
                                    ____________                                 Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                      Clerk
   United States of America,

                                                                     Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   James Earl Green, Jr.,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Northern District of Texas
                               USDC No. 1:20-CR-70-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Higginbotham, Graves, and Ho, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         James Earl Green, Jr., was convicted of attempted bank robbery.
   During sentencing, the district court varied upward from the United States
   Sentencing Guideline range and sentenced Green to 180 months
   imprisonment. Green filed a timely notice of appeal.

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-10739      Document: 00516670307          Page: 2   Date Filed: 03/08/2023

                                    No. 22-10739

          Green contests the substantive reasonableness of his sentence. This
   court reviews “an appellant’s claim that [a] sentence is unreasonable for
   abuse of discretion. This review is highly deferential, because the sentencing
   court is in a better position to find facts and judge their import under the
   § 3553(a) factors with respect to a particular defendant.” United States v.
   Hernandez, 876 F.3d 161, 166 (5th Cir. 2017) (internal citations and
   quotations omitted).
          The district court must “impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater
   than necessary, to accomplish the goals of sentencing, including to reflect the
   seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, to provide just
   punishment for the offense, to afford adequate deterrence to criminal
   conduct, and to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant.”
   Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85, 101 (2007) (internal quotations
   omitted) (citing 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)). 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) also requires the
   district court to consider “the nature and circumstances of the offense and
   the history and characteristics of the defendant.”         “A non-Guideline
   sentence unreasonably fails to reflect the statutory sentencing factors where
   it (1) does not account for a factor that should have received significant
   weight, (2) gives significant weight to an irrelevant or improper factor, or
   (3) represents a clear error of judgment in balancing the sentencing factors.”
   United States v. Smith, 440 F.3d 704, 707 (5th Cir. 2006).
          Green contends the sentence was unreasonable because the district
   court failed to consider his age at the time he committed earlier, unscored
   offenses; the gap between his last offense and the instant crime; and his
   current age. The district court thoroughly explained why the relevant
   § 3553(a) factors supported Green’s sentences, including his significant and
   lengthy criminal history, the failure of prior sentences to deter him from
   criminal conduct, and the violent circumstances of the instant attempted
   bank robbery. Thus, Green’s “claim amounts to a request that we reweigh

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Case: 22-10739     Document: 00516670307          Page: 3   Date Filed: 03/08/2023

                                   No. 22-10739

   the sentencing factors and substitute our judgment for that of the district
   court, which we will not do.” United States v. Hinojosa-Almance, 977 F.3d
   407, 412 (5th Cir. 2020) (internal quotations omitted). His challenge to the
   degree of the variance is likewise unavailing. See United States v. Brantley,
   537 F.3d 347, 350 (5th Cir. 2008).
          AFFIRMED.

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