Court Opinion

ID: 9880959
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-28 23:27:09.994195+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:15.914666
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-50046        Document: 00516912883             Page: 1      Date Filed: 09/28/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 23-50046
                                    Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                    ____________                             September 28, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                          Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Eugene Durst Self,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                               USDC No. 7:09-CR-66-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Willett, Duncan, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Eugene Durst Self, federal prisoner #76522-080, is serving concurrent
   sentences of 60 and 36 months following the revocation of his supervised
   release. He was originally convicted of various drug crimes. Self appeals the
   denial and dismissal of his motion for a sentence reduction under § 404 of
   the First Step Act of 2018. He contends that his prior § 404 motion does not

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-50046       Document: 00516912883         Page: 2    Date Filed: 09/28/2023

                                    No. 23-50046

   preclude consideration of this motion since he is challenging different aspects
   of his sentence and because he is eligible for a sentence reduction under the
   First Step Act.
          We review the district court’s ruling on a motion to reduce a sentence
   under the First Step Act for abuse of discretion. United States v. Batiste, 980
   F.3d 466, 469 (5th Cir. 2020). The Act’s express terms decide this case: a
   § 404 motion cannot be entertained “if a previous motion made under this
   section to reduce the sentence was, after the date of enactment of this Act,
   denied after a complete review of the motion on the merits.” First Step Act,
   Pub. L. No. 115-391, § 404(c), 132 Stat. 5194, 5222 (2018).
          Because Self’s previous § 404 motion was denied after a complete
   review on the merits, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying
   Self’s current motion. Further, Self’s mere eligibility for a sentence
   reduction under the First Step Act “does not mean he is entitled to it.”
   United States v. Jackson, 945 F.3d 315, 321 (5th Cir. 2019) (internal quotation
   marks and citation omitted).
          Additionally, as Self fails to brief a challenge to the district court’s
   alternative ruling that a sentence reduction was unwarranted based on a
   balancing of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, he has abandoned that issue on
   appeal. See United States v. Scroggins, 599 F.3d 433, 446–47 (5th Cir. 2010).
          Accordingly, the district court’s denial of Self’s § 404 motion is
   AFFIRMED.

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