Court Opinion

ID: 9915563
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-05 19:00:40.504758+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:16:10.572192
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-60443         Document: 00517023389             Page: 1      Date Filed: 01/05/2024

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

                                       No. 23-60443                                    FILED
                                     Summary Calendar                            January 5, 2024
                                     ____________                                 Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                       Clerk
   United States of America,

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Nicholas Jarrod Clayton,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                        for the Southern District of Mississippi
                                USDC No. 2:18-CR-52-1
                      ______________________________

   Before Jolly, Higginson, and Duncan, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Nicholas Jarrod Clayton, federal prisoner # 22075-043, appeals the
   district court’s denial of his motion for a sentence reduction pursuant to
   18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i).              Clayton contends that his family
   circumstances constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons, that he is not

         _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-60443      Document: 00517023389           Page: 2    Date Filed: 01/05/2024

                                     No. 23-60443

   a danger to the safety of the community, and that the applicable 18 U.S.C.
   § 3553(a) factors weigh in favor of granting him compassionate release.
          We review a district court’s decision denying compassionate release
   for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691, 693 (5th
   Cir. 2020). “[A] court abuses its discretion if it bases its decision on an error
   of law or a clearly erroneous assessment of the evidence.” Id. (internal
   quotation marks and citation omitted).
          Despite Clayton’s assertions to the contrary, the district court
   properly considered the relevant § 3553(a) factors and found that they
   weighed against granting compassionate release. The district court explicitly
   considered the nature and circumstances of his offense, his history and
   characteristics, the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities, the
   need for the sentence to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct, and
   the need for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote
   respect for the law, and to provide just punishment. Clayton demonstrates
   no more than personal disagreement with the district court’s balancing of
   sentencing factors, which is insufficient to establish an abuse of the court’s
   discretion. See Chambliss, 948 F.3d at 693.
          We need not consider Clayton’s contentions regarding whether the
   district court erred in determining that he failed to show extraordinary and
   compelling reasons warranting relief because the district court did not abuse
   its discretion in its alternative holding that relief was not warranted under the
   § 3553(a) factors.   See United States v. Rollins, 53 F.4th 353, 358 (5th
   Cir. 2022); Chambliss, 948 F.3d at 693.
          AFFIRMED.

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