Court Opinion

ID: 9841301
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-21 21:00:32.349185+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:48:26.350602
License: Public Domain

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION
                                 File Name: 23a0410n.06

                                             No. 22-6129
                                                                                          FILED
                           UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                           Sep 21, 2023
                                FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT                           DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk

                                                       )
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
                                                       )
        Plaintiff-Appellee,                            )       ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED
                                                       )       STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
v.                                                     )       THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF
                                                       )       TENNESSEE
LESTER TOLIVER,                                        )
        Defendant-Appellant.                           )
                                                       )                                     OPINION

Before: BATCHELDER, GRIFFIN, and BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judges.

        PER CURIAM. Lester Toliver appeals his 24-month prison sentence imposed upon the

revocation of his supervised release. As set forth below, we AFFIRM Toliver’s sentence.

        In November 2015, Toliver pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The district court sentenced Toliver to 51 months of

imprisonment, to be served consecutively to his state sentence for a probation violation, followed

by three years of supervised release.

        Toliver’s three-year term of supervised release began in June 2020. Six months later, the

probation office petitioned the district court to issue a warrant for Toliver’s arrest, alleging that he

had violated the conditions of his supervised release by committing another crime, failing to report

his arrest and make monthly reports to his probation officer, testing positive for marijuana, and

failing to participate in drug testing and mental health treatment as directed. Toliver’s Grade B

violations and category VI criminal history yielded a guidelines range of 21 to 27 months, which
No. 22-6129, United States v. Toliver

was restricted by the 24-month statutory maximum.              See 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(3); USSG

§ 7B1.4(a), p.s. After Toliver pleaded guilty to some of the violations, the district court revoked

his supervised release, sentenced him to 12 months of imprisonment, and imposed a term of

supervised release with the original expiration date, the first six months of which were to be served

on home detention.

       In September 2021, Toliver was released from custody and his supervision resumed. In

June 2022, the probation office petitioned the district court to issue a warrant for Toliver’s arrest.

The probation office subsequently filed an amended petition, alleging that Toliver had violated the

conditions of his supervised release by (1) testing positive for marijuana, (2) failing to report to

his probation officer, (3) failing to follow his probation officer’s instructions, (4) committing

another crime (evading arrest, criminal impersonation, assault, and disorderly conduct),

(5) committing another crime (theft of property, financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable

person, and criminal simulation), and (6) committing another crime (theft of property).

       At the supervised release violation hearing, the parties informed the district court that they

had come to an agreed resolution: Toliver would plead guilty to the first three violations,

the government would not proceed with the other violations, and the parties would recommend an

18-month sentence with no supervised release to follow. The district court again calculated

Toliver’s imprisonment range as 21 to 24 months.1 Concluding that “[r]epeated violations of

supervised release call for significant sentences,” the district court rejected the parties’

recommendation and sentenced Toliver to 24 months of imprisonment, to be served consecutively

to his state sentence, with no supervised release to follow.

1
  The probation office’s violation worksheet set forth a guidelines range of 27 to 33 months, adding
six months for Toliver’s unserved period of home detention. See USSG § 7B1.3(d), p.s. That
range was restricted to 24 months by the statutory maximum. See 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(3).
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No. 22-6129, United States v. Toliver

       In this timely appeal, Toliver challenges his 24-month consecutive sentence. We review

sentences imposed following revocation of supervised release for procedural and substantive

reasonableness under the same deferential abuse-of-discretion standard applied to sentences

imposed following conviction. United States v. Bolds, 511 F.3d 568, 578 (6th Cir. 2007).

       With respect to procedural reasonableness, the district court “must properly calculate the

guidelines range, treat that range as advisory, consider the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C.

§ 3553(a), refrain from considering impermissible factors, select the sentence based on facts that

are not clearly erroneous, and adequately explain why it chose the sentence.” United States

v. Rayyan, 885 F.3d 436, 440 (6th Cir. 2018). Toliver argues that the district court procedurally

erred by considering an impermissible factor—the “break” given to him upon the first revocation

of his supervised release—and by failing to explain its rationale for imposing a consecutive

sentence. Because Toliver did not object to his sentence on these grounds when afforded the

opportunity to do so at the conclusion of the violation hearing, we review his procedural challenges

for plain error. See United States v. Vonner, 516 F.3d 382, 385–86 (6th Cir. 2008) (en banc).

Toliver must “show (1) error (2) that ‘was obvious or clear,’ (3) that ‘affected [his] substantial

rights’ and (4) that ‘affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of the judicial

proceedings.’” Id. at 386 (quoting United States v. Gardiner, 463 F.3d 445, 459 (6th Cir. 2006)).

       Toliver first argues that the district court procedurally erred in considering the “break”

given to him upon the first revocation of his supervised release, asserting that the previous grant

of a downward variance is not a factor to be considered under § 3553(a). The district court noted

that the imprisonment range applicable upon the first revocation of Toliver’s supervised release

was 21 to 27 months and that it imposed a 12-month sentence: “So kind of gave him a break early

on.” Despite that “tremendous break,” the district court observed, Toliver went on to violate the

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No. 22-6129, United States v. Toliver

conditions of his supervised release in multiple ways, committing some of the same violations as

he had previously committed and absconding from supervision. Toliver’s prior violations and his

below-guidelines sentence for those violations were valid considerations under § 3553(a), which

instructs the district court to consider the defendant’s history and characteristics and the need for

the sentence imposed to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct.             See 18 U.S.C.

§ 3553(a)(1), (a)(2)(B). We have recognized that a district court is “permitted to consider [the

defendant’s] repeated failure to take advantage of prior favorable sentencing decisions in

considering whether a within-guidelines sentence would serve the purposes of § 3553(a).” United

States v. Wilson, 630 F. App’x 575, 580 (6th Cir. 2015); see United States v. Morris, 71 F.4th 475,

482 (6th Cir. 2023) (recognizing that the district court “may sanction the ‘breach of trust’

associated with a violation”). The district court therefore did not err in considering the “break”

given to Toliver upon the first revocation of his supervised release.

       Toliver also argues that the district court procedurally erred in failing to explain its

rationale for ordering his 24-month sentence to be served consecutively to his state sentence.2

When deciding to impose a consecutive sentence, “a district court must indicate on the record its

rationale, either expressly or by reference to a discussion of relevant considerations contained

elsewhere.” United States v. Cochrane, 702 F.3d 334, 346 (6th Cir. 2012). But the district court

need only make “generally clear the rationale under which it has imposed the consecutive

sentence.” United States v. Owens, 159 F.3d 221, 230 (6th Cir. 1998). “Where the court has just

engaged in a lengthy discussion of the sentencing factors in explaining the sentence itself, it is

2
  The revocation judgment stated: “Case is to be served consecutively with City of Bartlett,
Tennessee case# 2101892.” During the violation hearing, the parties discussed the three-year
sentence imposed in that state case that Toliver had yet to serve.
                                                -4-
No. 22-6129, United States v. Toliver

generally clear that the decision to impose a consecutive sentence is based on the same factors.”

United States v. Briggs, 543 F. App’x 583, 584 (6th Cir. 2013) (per curiam).

       Here, the district court conducted a thorough review of the relevant § 3553(a) factors before

finding that a 24-month sentence was appropriate and ordering that the sentence be served

consecutively to Toliver’s state sentence. “Although it would have been preferable” for the district

court to delineate which factors justified a consecutive sentence, “it did not plainly err by failing

to do so.” United States v. Brown, 519 F. App’x 357, 358 (6th Cir. 2013). And even if the district

court’s explanation were insufficient, Toliver has failed to demonstrate prejudice. See United

States v. Fears, 514 F. App’x 579, 583 (6th Cir. 2013) (“Where, as here, Defendant received the

sentence that the Guidelines advised that he should receive (i.e., a consecutive one), see U.S.S.G.

§ 7B1.3(f), we are not persuaded that he was prejudiced by this error and will not exercise our

discretion under plain error review to remand this case for re-sentencing.”).

       Toliver next challenges the substantive reasonableness of his sentence. “The essence of a

substantive-reasonableness claim is whether the length of the sentence is ‘greater than

necessary’ to achieve the sentencing goals set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).” United States

v. Tristan-Madrigal, 601 F.3d 629, 632–33 (6th Cir. 2010). “Simply put, a defendant’s sentence

is substantively unreasonable if it is too long.” United States v. Lee, 974 F.3d 670, 676 (6th Cir.

2020). “One way to gauge the substantive reasonableness of a sentence is to ask whether ‘the

court placed too much weight on some of the § 3553(a) factors and too little on others’ in reaching

its sentencing decision.” United States v. Perez-Rodriguez, 960 F.3d 748, 753–54 (6th Cir. 2020)

(quoting United States v. Parrish, 915 F.3d 1043, 1047 (6th Cir. 2019)). We apply a rebuttable

presumption of substantive reasonableness to a sentence within the applicable range. United States

v. Melton, 782 F.3d 306, 313 (6th Cir. 2015). Toliver has not overcome that presumption.

                                                -5-
No. 22-6129, United States v. Toliver

       Toliver first argues that his sentence is substantively unreasonable because the district court

relied on an impermissible factor—the “break” given to him upon the first revocation of his

supervised release. But “[t]he point [of substantive unreasonableness] is not that the district court

. . . considered an inappropriate factor; that’s the job of procedural unreasonableness.” Rayyan,

885 F.3d at 442. In any event, as addressed above, the district court properly considered its prior

leniency with Toliver and his continued failure to comply with the conditions of his supervised

release despite that leniency.

       Toliver also argues that his sentence is substantively unreasonable because the district court

failed to provide any justification for imposing a consecutive sentence. The adequacy of the

district court’s explanation is a procedural issue, not a substantive one. See Gall v. United States,

552 U.S. 38, 50 (2007). In any event, the district court conducted a thorough review of the relevant

§ 3553(a) factors and acted within its discretion in ordering that Toliver’s 24-month sentence be

served consecutively to his state sentence. See USSG § 7B1.3(f), p.s.; United States v. Hinojosa,

67 F.4th 334, 347 (6th Cir. 2023).

       For these reasons, we AFFIRM Toliver’s sentence.

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