Court Opinion

ID: 9940651
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-14 21:01:48.472976+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:45:18.119629
License: Public Domain

RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION
                               Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b)
                                      File Name: 24a0029p.06

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                  FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

                                                            ┐
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
                                                            │
                                   Plaintiff-Appellee,      │
                                                             >        No. 22-2158
                                                            │
        v.                                                  │
                                                            │
 ANTWAUN DEMETRIUS ALLEN,                                   │
                                Defendant-Appellant.        │
                                                            ┘

                         Appeal from the United States District Court
                    for the Western District of Michigan at Grand Rapids.
                    No. 1:22-cr-00090-1—Hala Y. Jarbou, District Judge.

                                  Argued: October 27, 2023

                             Decided and Filed: February 14, 2024

              Before: WHITE, STRANCH, and NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judges.
                                 _________________

                                           COUNSEL

ARGUED: Paul L. Nelson, FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE, Grand Rapids,
Michigan, for Appellant. Kathryn M. Dalzell, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Paul L. Nelson, FEDERAL PUBLIC
DEFENDER’S OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellant. Jonathan Roth, UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee.
                                     _________________

                                            OPINION
                                     _________________

       NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. Antwaun Allen pleaded guilty to possessing
methamphetamine with intent to distribute. At sentencing, he sought a downward variance from
his Guidelines range, raising the government’s role in his offense, policy critiques of the
 No. 22-2158                           United States v. Allen                              Page 2

Guidelines’ treatment of meth purity, as well as other mitigating offense and character traits. The
district court sentenced Allen to 108 months, at the bottom of his Guidelines range.

       Allen makes three arguments on appeal. First, Allen claims the sentence is procedurally
unreasonable because the district court failed to address the government’s provocation of his
offense. Second, Allen claims that the sentence is procedurally unreasonable because the district
court impermissibly ceded its sentencing discretion to Congress.        Finally, Allen argues the
sentence is substantively unreasonable because the district court exclusively relied on the meth’s
weight and purity, as reflected in the Guidelines, to the neglect of his “whole person.” Because
we conclude his three claims lack merit, we AFFIRM.

                                                I.

       Allen put himself on the police’s radar by distributing relatively small amounts of high-
quality meth to a client. Allen acted as a middleman, ferrying meth from a dealer in Kalamazoo,
Michigan, to a client in Van Buren County. Allen told investigators that he exclusively sold
meth to this customer, a woman he knew only as “Kristen.” Allen claims that, starting in
January 2022, he picked up one to five ounces of meth in Kalamazoo a couple of times per
month and delivered them to Kristen.

       By March 2022, the police began using Kristen as a confidential informant to conduct
controlled meth purchases from Allen. At the government’s behest, Kristen contacted Allen
twice to purchase relatively small amounts of meth: 68 grams on March 22, 2022, and 126 grams
a week later. A lab test revealed that the second meth purchase was 100 percent pure. Kristen
then significantly escalated her drug demand, ordering a full pound (about 453 grams) of meth
on April 7, 2022.

       That same day, the police stopped Allen’s car on the way back from a meth run to
Kalamazoo. A search uncovered a black plastic bag containing a pound of 99-percent-pure
meth. After receiving a Miranda warning, Allen freely admitted he was delivering the pound of
meth to Kristen.
 No. 22-2158                          United States v. Allen                              Page 3

       Allen pleaded guilty to a single count of possessing methamphetamine with intent to
distribute. The Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) accounted for the meth from the three
controlled buys, plus a conservative estimate of the drugs Allen had delivered to Kristen before
she turned confidential informant. This sum yielded an initial offense level of 34, minus 3 points
for acceptance of responsibility, for a total offense level of 31. Given Allen’s criminal history
category of I, his total offense level of 31 yielded a Guidelines range of 108 to 135 months’
imprisonment. Allen accepted the PSR, including its calculation of his Guidelines range. He
then requested a downward variance through his Sentencing Memorandum and at his sentencing
hearing.

       Allen raised various policy critiques of the meth Guidelines, claiming (1) that their focus
on quantity and purity fails to properly measure culpability, (2) that they were not developed
using an “empirical approach,” and (3) that the purity thresholds (unchanged since 1995) are
outdated because “the Mexican cartels’ increased control over the entire distribution line has
increased the purity of the drug in average circulation.” R.37, Def.’s Sent. Mem. at 7–8, PageID
109–10.    Allen also highlighted various mitigating character traits, such as his steady
employment history and tight-knit family bonds. Most important for this appeal, Allen argued he
should not be treated as a “kingpin,” given his limited history of drug dealing. Id. at 10, PageID
112. Allen emphasized he had “no prior history of drug trafficking.” Id. The “principal driver
of the offense level here was the amount specifically requested by law enforcement” because
Allen had dealt only smaller amounts before the controlled buys started. Id. at 10–11, PageID
112–13.

       At the sentencing hearing, the district court asked Allen to explain his request for a
downward variance. Allen renewed his three primary policy arguments, while also bringing up
his work history and family life again to maintain that he was an “atypical defendant,” “not a
kingpin” or “even a recidivist offender.” R.45, Sent. Tr. at 6–7, PageID 159–60.

       The district court acknowledged that the “guidelines are advisory” but used them as “a
starting point” before conducting “an individualized assessment,” invoking the relevant
18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors to guide its sentence. Id. at 21, PageID 174. And the court
attempted to address “all the arguments” that Allen “made in support of a lower sentence” by
 No. 22-2158                           United States v. Allen                             Page 4

“going through the list,” accepting that Allen had no “history of drug trafficking” and was “not
this kingpin.” Id. at 21–22, PageID 174–75. And the court noted Allen’s commitment to his
family and stable employment history. But it emphasized the “seriousness of the offense” and
“the amounts that were involved,” explaining that it was “the first time” it had “seen 100 percent
purity of meth,” a factor that made Allen’s dealing “all the more dangerous.” Id. at 22, PageID
175. The court expressed its agreement with Congress’s decision “that certain amounts needed
to be sentenced accordingly . . . because of the[ir] dangerousness.” Id. For these reasons, the
court denied the variance but sentenced Allen to 108 months, at the bottom of his Guidelines
range.

         After imposing the sentence, the district court asked Allen whether it had “addressed on
the record all non-frivolous arguments that have been asserted”—as required by United States v.
Bostic, 371 F.3d 865, 873 (6th Cir. 2004). R.45, Sent. Tr. at 26, PageID 179. In response, Allen
restated three points for the record: (1) not all the meth sold was 100 percent pure, (2) the
amount of meth was “driven by the government’s request,” and (3) there was no evidence in the
record that he had been dealing drugs beyond the period listed by the PSR. Id. at 27, PageID
180. The court kept the sentence at 108 months, briefly acknowledging the first and third
points—but making no comment about the second one.

         Allen timely appealed.

                                                II.

         First, we address Allen’s contention that his sentence is procedurally unreasonable.
Sentences are procedurally reasonable when district courts “properly calculate the guidelines
range, treat the guidelines as advisory, consider the § 3553(a) factors and adequately explain the
chosen sentence.” United States v. Grossman, 513 F.3d 592, 595 (6th Cir. 2008). The only
question here is whether the district court properly explained its sentence. When “a defendant
raises a particular argument in seeking a lower sentence, the record must reflect both that the
district judge considered the defendant’s argument and that the judge explained the basis for
rejecting it.” United States v. Richardson, 437 F.3d 550, 554 (6th Cir. 2006). But “the lack of a
detailed discussion does not constitute procedural error because ‘a sentencing judge is not
 No. 22-2158                            United States v. Allen                            Page 5

required to explicitly address every mitigating argument that a defendant makes, particularly
when those arguments are raised only in passing.’” United States v. Brooks, 628 F.3d 791, 798
(6th Cir. 2011) (quoting United States v. Madden, 515 F.3d 601, 611 (6th Cir. 2008)).

                                                  A.

       Allen claims his sentence is procedurally unreasonable because the district court failed to
address the government’s role in his offense. This argument rests on an uncontested fact: Allen
sold most of the meth calculated into his sentence during the three controlled buys. But the form
of this argument has mutated over the course of this appeal, taking different shapes at Allen’s
sentencing, in his opening brief to us, and in his reply.

       In his sentencing memo and at sentencing, Allen’s argument was simple: he merited a
variance because his limited dealing history meant he was not a “kingpin.” R.37, Def.’s Sent.
Mem. at 10, PageID 112; R.45, Sent. Tr. at 6, 11, PageID 159, 164. His references to the
government’s role supported this claim. Allen’s sentencing memo’s claim that “the amount
specifically requested by law enforcement” was the “principal driver of the offense level” was
the second sentence in a paragraph characterizing Allen’s culpability in these exchanges. R.37,
Def.’s Sent. Mem. at 10–11, PageID 112–13. Indeed, the claim followed a sentence explaining
that “Allen was a very novice and inexperienced street dealer, not a ‘kingpin.’” Id. at 10, PageID
112.   And, at sentencing, Allen’s reference to the “amount specifically requested by the
government” preceded an explanation that “[t]here was never an amount even approaching that
figure”—indicating that the reference was tied to his argument about his minor dealing history
before the controlled buys.      R.45, Sent. Tr. at 27, PageID 180.    It also responded to the
government’s argument that the drug quantities showed Allen was a serious dealer because
“somebody doesn’t wake up one morning and sell” or “have access even to a pound of
methamphetamine.” Id. at 17, PageID 170.

       So Allen raised the government’s role in his offense to support an argument that he was a
minor dealer rather than a “kingpin”—not to introduce another argument. The district court
addressed this argument at the sentencing hearing, acknowledging that Allen was not a “kingpin”
and agreeing that he lacked “any history of drug trafficking” prior to his dealings with Kristen.
 No. 22-2158                                  United States v. Allen                                      Page 6

Id. at 22, PageID 175. Since the district court addressed this argument at the sentencing hearing,
there is no procedural error. See United States v. Clayton, 937 F.3d 630, 643 (6th Cir. 2019) (“As
the district court demonstrated its consideration of these issues, we see no procedural error
here.”).

           Allen’s opening brief then recasts his variance argument as one “regarding police
provocation of the offense,” claiming he made this argument in both his Sentencing Memo and at
his sentencing hearing. Appellant Br. at 11–13. Because the district court did not reference the
controlled buys in explaining the sentence, Allen concludes it “did not address this issue at
sentencing”—a procedural error. Id. at 12.

           Under the most generous interpretation, Allen adverted to this provocation argument for
the first time at sentencing in response to the Bostic question. R. 45, Sent. Tr. at 27, PageID
180.1 We require a “clear articulation of any objection and the grounds therefor,” to “aid the
district court in correcting any error, tell the appellate court precisely which objections have been
preserved and which have been forfeited, and enable the appellate court to apply the proper
standard of review to those preserved.” Bostic, 371 F.3d at 873 (quoting United States v. Jones,
899 F.2d 1097, 1102–03 (11th Cir. 1990), overruled on other grounds by United States v. Morrill,
984 F.2d 1136 (11th Cir. 1993)). Failure to state “a sufficiently articulated objection” will result
in plain-error appellate review. Id. at 871.

           Putting aside the propriety of raising an entirely new argument in response to the Bostic
question, Allen’s response to the Bostic question did not clearly indicate he was raising a separate
argument about government provocation. Simply mentioning a fact that could support such an
argument—that the controlled buys were greater than his usual meth sales—is not enough.
Allen’s response lacked any reference to government provocation and contained no reasoning or
legal authority that would alert the district court to such an argument. Instead, raising the fact of
government involvement was consistent with the argument that Allen had made in his sentencing

           1The Bostic question provides a “last-chance approach to clarify[] objections to a criminal sentence.”
United States v. Vonner, 516 F.3d 382, 391 (6th Cir. 2008) (en banc). To “aid the district court” in addressing all
arguments for a variance, defendants should generally raise all non-frivolous arguments before the question. Bostic,
371 F.3d at 873 (quoting United States v. Jones, 899 F.2d 1097, 1102–03 (11th Cir. 1990).
 No. 22-2158                           United States v. Allen                              Page 7

memorandum and at the hearing—namely, that he wasn’t a “kingpin.” R.37, Def.’s Sent. Mem.
at 10, PageID 112; R.45, Sent. Tr. at 6, 11 PageID 159, 164. And the court had already addressed
that issue.

        It’s true that we have, on rare occasions, found plain error even when a defendant did not
raise an argument in response to the Bostic question. See United States v. Wallace, 597 F.3d 794,
803–04, 807 (6th Cir. 2010); United States v. Thomas-Mathews, 81 F.4th 530, 539, 543–46 (6th
Cir. 2023). But when the defendant did not raise the argument in the hearing, he at least raised it
in his sentencing memorandum. See Thomas-Mathews, 81 F.4th at 536, 543. And in those
cases, we invoked the principle that a district court must address non-frivolous arguments that a
defendant has raised. See id. at 544; Wallace, 597 F.3d at 803–04. And even that principle is
circumscribed if the defendant is raising an argument that is “conceptually straightforward.” See
United States v. Simmons, 587 F.3d 348, 361–62 (6th Cir. 2009) (quoting United States v.
Vonner, 516 F.3d 382, 388 (6th Cir. 2008) (en banc)). Here, Allen did not expressly raise a
government provocation argument before the district court; rather, in response to the Bostic
question, he clarified that the drug quantity “was an amount specifically requested by the
government.” R.45, Sent. Tr. at 27, PageID 180. As in Vonner, Allen’s “arguments were
conceptually straightforward, and the district court imposed a within-guidelines sentence,” and
“[o]n this record, we cannot say that any error was so plain or obvious that the judge was
‘derelict in countenancing it.’” 516 F.3d at 388 (quoting United States v. Gardiner, 463 F.3d
445, 459 (6th Cir. 2006)). Likewise, this record does not show that “[Allen]’s sentencing was
marked by ‘significant procedural error’” qualifying as “a plain error.” Simmons, 587 F.3d at
363 (quoting Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007)).

        Allen’s reply brief reconfigures this argument once more, this time into a request that we
follow the lead of several sister circuits and “recognize sentencing entrapment and sentencing
manipulation as legitimate sentencing considerations.” Reply Br. at 3, 6–7 (collecting cases).
Although Allen’s reply discusses them together, these are two separate claims. Sentencing
entrapment occurs when “the government induces a defendant to commit a more serious crime
when he was predisposed to commit a less serious offense.” United States v. Mack, 841 F.3d
514, 523 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (quoting United States v. Walls, 70 F.3d 1323, 1329 (D.C. Cir. 1995)).
 No. 22-2158                                   United States v. Allen                                        Page 8

And “[s]entencing manipulation occurs when the government unfairly exaggerates the
defendant’s sentencing range by engaging in a longer-than-needed investigation and, thus,
increase[s] the drug quantities for which the defendant is responsible.” United States v. Torres,
563 F.3d 731, 734 (8th Cir. 2009). To Allen, his case provides a clear example of both: “But for
the police’s efforts, Mr. Allen would have sold significantly less to Kristen and his advisory
guideline range would have been significantly lower.” Reply Br. at 7. So he asks us to find that
the district court’s failure to address sentencing enhancement or manipulation was a procedural
error.

         But we see no procedural error. Allen failed to raise this argument until his appellate
reply brief. Before then, Allen never once mentioned “entrapment” or “manipulation.” And,
until the reply, Allen alleged neither that the controlled buys had induced him “to commit a more
serious crime,” Mack, 841 F.3d at 523, nor that the government had engaged “in a longer-than-
needed investigation” to increase his Guidelines range, Torres, 563 F.3d at 734. So Allen
forfeited these arguments. See United States v. Kalymon, 541 F.3d 624, 632 (6th Cir. 2008)
(“Issues raised for the first time in a reply brief are considered waived on appeal.”). We will
consider the availability of sentencing entrapment or manipulation claims in our Circuit another
day.

         For these reasons, we reject Allen’s claim that the district court erred in failing to address
the government’s role in his offense—in each of its three iterations.

                                                          B.

         Allen also claims his sentence is procedurally unreasonable because the district court
impermissibly ceded discretion to Congress. Allen first made this argument in a Rule 28(j) letter
to the court,2 pointing to United States v. Thomas-Mathews, 81 F.4th 530 (6th Cir. 2023) as
supplemental authority. In Thomas-Mathews, we found a sentence procedurally unreasonable
because the district court “impermissibly ceded its discretion to Congress” when it treated the
Guidelines’ “crack-to-powder ratio as effectively mandatory.” 81 F.4th at 542–43.

         2Rule 28(j) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure allows parties to “advise the circuit clerk by letter”
of “pertinent and significant authorities [that] come to a party’s attention after the party’s brief has been filed—or
after oral argument but before decision.”
 No. 22-2158                           United States v. Allen                              Page 9

       Allen compares his case to Thomas-Mathews, claiming that the “district court’s
statements in the instant case similarly show that the district court impermissibly ceded its
discretion to Congress.” Appellant 28(j) Letter at 2. He argues that the district court rejected a
downward     variance   because    “Congress    had    determined    that   certain   amounts   of
methamphetamine, and certain purity levels, ‘need to have accountability’ and ‘needed to be
sentenced accordingly.’”    Id. at 1 (quoting R.45, Sent. Tr. at 12, 22, PageID 165, 175).
According to Allen, these statements prove that his sentence was driven by the court’s “belief
that Congress decided that this amount of methamphetamine of this purity required a guideline
sentence and a variance therefore was not appropriate.” Id. at 2.

       Allen did ask the district court to vary downward based on a policy disagreement with the
meth Guidelines. But, on appeal, Allen failed to argue that the district court treated those
Guidelines as mandatory—that is, until he sent the 28(j) letter. And we do not allow parties to
raise new arguments through a 28(j) letter. Carter v. United States, 820 F. App’x 392, 395 n.1
(6th Cir. 2020) (“Rule 28(j) letters may not raise new arguments or issues that could have been
raised previously.”); In re Lewis, 398 F.3d 735, 748 n.9 (6th Cir. 2005) (same). So Allen’s
argument that the district court impermissibly ceded its discretion to vary to Congress has not
been properly raised on appeal.

       But, even if Allen had properly made this argument, Thomas-Mathews does not help him.
Unlike the court there, the district court here never suggested its hands were tied by Congress.
See Thomas-Mathews, 81 F.4th at 541–43. There, “[t]he district court repeatedly emphasized its
belief that Congress, and not the courts, should determine sentencing for crack and powder
cocaine.” Id. at 542. In contrast, here, the court’s comments show it understood its power to
vary from the Guidelines. The court saw its job as making an “individualized assessment,”
accepting the Guidelines as “advisory,” only a “starting point,” and just “one factor.” R.45, Sent.
Tr. at 12, 14, 21, 24, PageID 165, 167, 174, 177. The court addressed various mitigating facts
and did not merely defer to the Guidelines. And the court did not simply reject Allen’s policy
arguments for a variance by deferring to Congress’s judgment. Instead, the court invoked its
own experience, noting it was the first time it had seen 100 percent purity meth, which it
emphasized made Allen’s dealing “all the more dangerous” to the community. Id. at 22, PageID
 No. 22-2158                                   United States v. Allen                                      Page 10

175. So Allen’s claim that the district court impermissibly ceded its discretion to Congress is
belied by the record.

                                                         III.

         Finally, Allen claims his sentence is substantively unreasonable because the district court
“based the sentence on only one factor—the guideline range based on the weight and purity of
the methamphetamine sold.” Appellant Br. at 16. He contends that policy flaws in the meth
Guidelines rendered them a “poor indicator of culpability,” at least in his case. 3 Id.                            By
sentencing Allen within a flawed Guidelines range, “the district court failed to properly consider”
Allen’s “whole person”—ignoring both “the offense-related issues” and his “personal
characteristics.” Id. at 24, 26 (citing Concepcion v. United States, 597 U.S. 481, 491 (2022)).

         We give “a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness to a properly calculated, within-
Guidelines sentence,” such as Allen’s. United States v. Graham, 622 F.3d 445, 464 (6th Cir.
2010).     The question before us is not whether Allen’s sentence best serves the aims of
sentencing—only whether the district court could reasonably choose to impose it. A sentence is
substantively unreasonable only when “the district court selects a sentence arbitrarily, bases the
sentence on impermissible factors, fails to consider relevant sentencing factors, or gives an
unreasonable amount of weight to any pertinent factor.” United States v. Conatser, 514 F.3d 508,
520 (6th Cir. 2008).

         Allen’s attempt to rebut the presumption of substantive reasonableness fails. First, the
district court did not err in refusing to “vary from the applicable guideline range based solely on”
Allen’s policy critique of the Guidelines. See Appellant Br. at 16. To be sure, district courts may
vary from the Guidelines for policy reasons alone. Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85,
106–07 (2007). But district courts need not depart from the Guidelines whenever defendants
assert a policy critique. Brooks, 628 F.3d at 800 (“[T]he fact that a district court may disagree

         3Allen’s policy critique of the meth Guidelines includes claims: (1) that they are not based on an “empirical
approach” but on “the statutory mandatory minimum sentences established by Congress in the hastily-enacted Anti-
Drug Abuse Act of 1986 (ADAA),” Appellant Br. at 18, (2) that they lead to “unjustified sentencing disparities,” id.
at 19, and (3) that they “focus on quantity and purity” of drugs sold, “minimiz[ing] the significance of other relevant
factors,” id. at 22.
 No. 22-2158                                  United States v. Allen                                       Page 11

with a Guideline for policy reasons and may reject the Guidelines range because of that
disagreement does not mean that the court must disagree with that Guideline or that it must reject
the Guidelines range if it disagrees.”). The district court did not abuse its discretion by staying
within the Guidelines range despite Allen’s policy critiques—however persuasive this court may
(or may not) find them.

         Second, the district court did not place an unreasonable, much less exclusive, weight on
“the guideline range based on the weight and purity of the methamphetamine sold.”                                See
Appellant Br. at 16. Contrary to Allen’s claim, the court did not base Allen’s sentence solely on
the weight and purity of the meth he sold–or even on the Guidelines alone.4 The district court
relied on the Guidelines as a “starting point.” R.45, Sent. Tr., at 20–21, PageID 173–74. And, to
be sure, the court highlighted the meth’s high purity to show the danger Allen’s dealing created
for his community. But the court also considered “the nature and circumstances of the offense”
as well as Allen’s “history and characteristics.” Id. at 21, PageID 174. The court’s decision to
sentence him within the Guidelines stemmed not from disregard for these mitigating factors, but
from an assessment that they did not sufficiently outweigh the gravity of his offense to justify a
variance.

         The district court’s decision to sentence Allen at the very bottom of the range confirms
that it properly considered Allen’s “whole person”—suggesting it considered these mitigating
factors to give Allen a lower sentence, though still within the Guidelines range. Deeming Allen’s
sentence substantively unreasonable would mean finding a district court abuses its discretion by
choosing a sentence within the Guidelines range after considering all relevant factors—an
outcome at odds with our precedents.5 “Doing so would essentially amount to substituting our
judgment for the district court’s as to how long the defendant should serve.” United States v.

         4Allen argues that the district court’s reliance on the Guidelines range indicates it considered only the
drugs’ “weight and purity to the exclusion of other relevant sentencing factors.” Appellant Br. at 16. But Allen’s
Guidelines range, of course, derived from factors on top of the drugs’ weight and purity, including his acceptance of
responsibility and criminal history. In any event, although the Guidelines’ calculation incorporated factors beyond
the drugs’ weight and purity, the district court considered other factors beyond the Guidelines range.
         5We need not consider Allen’s argument that his sentence was rendered substantively unreasonable by the
district court’s failure to address “the government’s role in the offense,” since the argument was first raised by his
reply brief. Reply Br. at 8; see Kalymon, 541 F.3d at 632.
 No. 22-2158                          United States v. Allen                     Page 12

Collington, 461 F.3d 805, 811 (6th Cir. 2006) (affirming a sentence outside the Guidelines
range).

                                              IV.

          For these reasons, we AFFIRM.