Court Opinion

ID: 9411811
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-07-28 00:01:03.237021+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:41:14.119873
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-10105         Document: 00516836509             Page: 1      Date Filed: 07/27/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit
                                       No. 23-10105
                                     Summary Calendar                                   FILED
                                     ____________                                     July 27, 2023
                                                                                  Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                           Clerk

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   James Slaughter,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Northern District of Texas
                                USDC No. 6:99-CR-10-1
                      ______________________________

   Before Wiener, Elrod, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          James Slaughter, federal prisoner # 32675-077, appeals the denial of
   his Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) motion to alter or amend the
   judgment of the district court granting him relief under section 404 of the
   First Step Act of 2018 (FSA), Pub. L. No. 115-391, § 404, 132 Stat. 5194,
   5222. We review for an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Batiste, 980

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-10105      Document: 00516836509          Page: 2    Date Filed: 07/27/2023

                                    No. 23-10105

   F.3d 466, 469 (5th Cir. 2020); Trevino v. City of Fort Worth, 944 F.3d 567,
   570 (5th Cir. 2019).
          The district court was not permitted to consider Slaughter’s
   challenges to his U.S.S.G. § 2D1.2(a)(1) enhancement and the court’s prior
   drug-quantity determination; these arguments, which are not premised upon
   section 404 or post-sentencing changes to applicable laws or facts, were
   matters for the original sentencing. See United States v. Hegwood, 934 F.3d
   414, 418-19 (5th Cir. 2019), abrogated on other grounds by Concepcion v. United
   States, 142 S. Ct. 2389, 2404 (2022); cf. United States v. Escajeda, 58 F.4th
   184, 187 (5th Cir. 2023) (compassionate release case holding that a prisoner
   cannot use 18 U.S.C. § 3582 to challenge the legality or duration of sentence);
   United States v. Evans, 587 F.3d 667, 674 (5th Cir. 2009) (explaining that
   arguments for direct appeal are not cognizable in § 3582(c) motions).
   Although Slaughter argues that the sentences imposed by the district court
   in granting him FSA § 404 relief are substantively unreasonable, his
   argument is foreclosed. See Batiste, 980 F.3d at 479-80.
          Finally, Slaughter does not identify any authority requiring the district
   court to state findings and conclusions in denying his Rule 59(e) motion. See
   Fed. R. Civ. P. 59. Moreover, the district court stated that it had
   considered Slaughter’s Rule 59(e) arguments, and it implicitly denied the
   motion for the reasons set forth in its previous order granting FSA § 404
   relief, to wit: its consideration of the § 3553(a) factors, public safety, and
   Slaughter’s post-sentencing conduct; no more was required. See Concepcion
   v. United States, 142 S. Ct. 2389, 2405 (2022); Batiste, 980 F.3d at 478-79.
          AFFIRMED.

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