Court Opinion

ID: 9384325
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-03 16:00:55.190492+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:52.002271
License: Public Domain

USCA11 Case: 22-13529    Document: 22-1     Date Filed: 04/03/2023   Page: 1 of 5

                                                  [DO NOT PUBLISH]
                                   In the
                United States Court of Appeals
                        For the Eleventh Circuit

                          ____________________

                                No. 22-13529
                          Non-Argument Calendar
                          ____________________

       UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
                                                      Plaintiff-Appellee,
       versus
       LAWRENCE TWEED,

                                                  Defendant-Appellant.

                          ____________________

                 Appeal from the United States District Court
                       for the Middle District of Florida
                  D.C. Docket No. 6:19-cr-00064-PGB-DCI-1
                           ____________________
USCA11 Case: 22-13529         Document: 22-1        Date Filed: 04/03/2023         Page: 2 of 5

       2                          Opinion of the Court                      22-13529

       Before NEWSOM, BRANCH, and GRANT, Circuit Judges.
       PER CURIAM:
              Lawrence Tweed is a federal prisoner serving a total of 90
       months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to possession of child
       pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B), (b)(2), and
       receipt of child pornography, in violation of § 2252A(a)(2), (b)(1).
       He appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for
       compassionate release. However, in his briefing on appeal, he does
       not address the district court’s reasons for denying his motion for
       compassionate release. Instead, he argues for the first time on
       appeal that the district court erred in denying his motion for
       compassionate release because it overlooked that his convictions
       allegedly violate the Double Jeopardy Clause and that there was an
       Alleyne 1 violation at sentencing, which he contends constitute
       extraordinary and compelling circumstances. After review, we
       affirm.
             In the district court, Tweed filed a pro se motion for
       compassionate release because his mother had passed away and he
       needed to care for his adult brother who is mentally incapacitated.
       He maintained that he was not a danger to the community and that

       1 Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99, 116 (2013) (holding that any facts that
       increase a mandatory minimum sentence must be submitted to a jury and
       proved beyond a reasonable doubt).
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       22-13529                   Opinion of the Court                                 3

       the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) sentencing factors supported his request.
       The government opposed the motion.
              The district court denied Tweed’s motion, concluding that
       Tweed failed to demonstrate extraordinary and compelling
       circumstances for a sentence reduction because care for one’s
       sibling did not fall under any of the extraordinary and compelling
       circumstances set forth in Application Note 1 to U.S.S.G.
       § 1B1.13(A)–(D). Moreover, the district court found that the
       § 3553(a) factors did not support Tweed’s request. Tweed,
       proceeding pro se, appealed.
               We review de novo whether a defendant is eligible for an 18
       U.S.C. § 3582(c) sentence reduction. United States v. Bryant, 996
       F.3d 1243, 1251 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 583 (2021).
       Although pro se pleadings are to be liberally construed and held to
       a less stringent standard that counseled pleadings, Tannenbaum v.
       United States, 148 F.3d 1262, 1263 (11th Cir. 1998), “issues not
       briefed on appeal by a pro se litigant are deemed abandoned,”
       Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 874 (11th Cir. 2008). 2
            Under § 3582(c)(1)(A), the district court may reduce a
       movant’s imprisonment term if: (1) there are extraordinary and
       compelling reasons for doing so, (2) the factors listed in 18 U.S.C.

       2 Tweed abandons any challenge to the district court’s determination that
       sibling care did not qualify as an extraordinary and compelling reason and that
       the § 3553(a) factors did not support his request by failing to brief those issues
       on appeal. See Timson, 518 F.3d at 874.
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       4                      Opinion of the Court               22-13529

       § 3553(a) favor doing so, and (3) doing so is consistent with the
       policy statements in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13. United States v. Tinker, 14
       F.4th 1234, 1237 (11th Cir. 2021).
              The Sentencing Commission defines “extraordinary and
       compelling reasons” in Application Note 1 to U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13.
       Pursuant to this definition, there are four circumstances under
       which “extraordinary and compelling reasons exist”: (A) the
       defendant suffers from (i) “a terminal illness” or (ii) a permanent
       health condition “that substantially diminishes the ability of the
       defendant to provide self-care within the environment of a
       correctional facility from which he or she is not expected to
       recover”; (B) the defendant is “at least 65 years old,” “is
       experiencing a serious [age-related] deterioration in physical or
       mental health,” and “has served at least 10 years or 75 percent of
       his or her term of imprisonment, whichever is less”; (C) the
       defendant’s assistance is needed in caring for the defendant’s minor
       child, spouse, or registered partner due to (i) “[t]he death or
       incapacitation of the caregiver of the defendant’s minor child or
       minor children” or (ii) “[t]he incapacitation of the defendant’s
       spouse or registered partner”; and (D) there exist “other”
       extraordinary and compelling reasons “[a]s determined by the
       Director of the Bureau of Prisons.” See U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 cmt. (n.1
       (A)–(D)). “[D]istrict courts are bound by the Commission’s
       definition of ‘extraordinary and compelling reasons’ found in
       [§] 1B1.13.” Bryant, 996 F.3d at 1262.
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       22-13529                   Opinion of the Court                                5

              On appeal, Tweed argues for the first time that
       compassionate release was warranted because his convictions
       allegedly violate the Double Jeopardy Clause and because there
       was an Alleyne violation at sentencing, which he contends
       constitute extraordinary and compelling circumstances under
       § 1B1.13’s catch-all provision.3 Tweed’s argument fails because the
       alleged illegality of his conviction and his sentence is not a
       qualifying basis for compassionate release. See U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13
       cmt. (n.1 (A)–(D)). And contrary to Tweed’s argument, the
       catchall provision in “Application Note 1(D) does not grant
       discretion to courts to develop ‘other reasons’ that might justify a
       reduction in a defendant’s sentence.” Bryant, 996 F.3d at 1248.
       Accordingly, the district court did not err in denying Tweed’s
       motion.
               AFFIRMED.

       3 Issues not raised in the district court are reviewed only for plain error.
       United States v. Hano, 922 F.3d 1272, 1283 (11th Cir. 2019). “For there to be
       plain error, there must (1) be error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects the
       substantial rights of the party, and (4) that seriously affects the fairness,
       integrity, or public reputation of a judicial proceeding.” Id. (quotation
       omitted).