U.S. v. Bryant, 05-2243.

• Decision Date: 09 May 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-2243.,05-2243.
• Citation: 446 F.3d 1317
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. Sheldon Lynn BRYANT, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

446 F.3d 1317

UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. Sheldon Lynn BRYANT, Appellee.

No. 05-2243.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: March 15, 2006.

Filed: May 9, 2006.

Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellant was C. Douglas Shull, AUSA, Jefferson City, MO.

Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellee was Gerald D. Mueller of Columbia, MO.

Before WOLLMAN, FAGG, and RILEY, Circuit Judges.

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

The government appeals the sentence of thirty months' imprisonment imposed by the district court on Sheldon Lynn Bryant, arguing that it is unreasonable. We vacate the sentence and remand to the district court for resentencing.

Bryant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fifty grams or more of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. In his plea agreement, Bryant admitted that, beginning as early as August 2001 and continuing until July 18, 2003, he was involved in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and that the conspiracy involved more than fifty grams of cocaine base. Law enforcement officials identified Bryant as a mid-level dealer in this conspiracy, and he admitted that he was the primary supplier for one buyer, selling him cocaine base on nearly a daily basis for approximately two years.

The district court found that Bryant's total offense level was twenty-seven, his criminal history category was I, and the applicable sentencing guideline range was thus between seventy and eighty-seven months. Neither party challenges this calculation on appeal. At the sentencing hearing, Bryant's counsel argued that Bryant had been drug-free for nine months, had a supportive family, and an insignificant prior criminal history. Sent Tr. at 3. The court then told Bryant that he would be sentenced to thirty months' imprisonment to "give [him] enough time to go through the drug treatment program." Sent. Tr. at 4. The district court also stated that "based on [Bryant's] previous good record and the fact that [he has] for a period of nine months been drug-free, [it was] going to go much below the" guideline range. Id. The government objected to this variance and timely filed this appeal.

When there is no dispute about the applicable guideline range, the issue we examine on appeal is whether the sentence imposed is "reasonable" in light of the factors articulated in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). United States v. Haack, 403 F.3d 997, 1003 (8th Cir.2005). We review the district court's decision for abuse of discretion. United States v. Dalton, 404 F.3d 1029, 1032 (8th Cir.2005). A discretionary sentencing ruling may be unreasonable if a sentencing court fails to consider a relevant factor that should have received significant weight, gives significant weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, or commits a clear error of judgment by arriving at a sentence outside the limited range of choice dictated by the facts of the case. Haack, 403 F.3d at 1004.

A sentence within the guideline range is presumed to be reasonable. United States v. Lincoln, 413 F.3d 716, 717 (8th Cir.2005). Sentences deviating from the guideline range can be reasonable so long as the judge offers appropriate justification under the factors specified in Section 3553(a). United States v. Claiborne, 439 F.3d 479, 481 (8th Cir.2006). The further the district court varies from the presumptively reasonable guideline range, the more compelling the justification based on the 3553(a) factors must be. United States v. McMannus, 436 F.3d 871, 874 (8th Cir.2006). An extraordinary reduction must be supported by extraordinary circumstances. Dalton, 404 F.3d at 1029.

The thirty month sentence imposed in this case represents a fifty-seven percent downward variance from the bottom of Bryant's advisory guideline range. We are mindful that the appropriate degree of sentencing reduction cannot be calculated with mathematical precision, and there is a range of reasonableness available to the district court in any given case. United States v. Saenz, 428 F.3d 1159, 1164-65 (8th Cir.2005). Nevertheless, the record in this case does not support such a drastic reduction from the guideline range.

The district court, in sentencing Bryant, offered only a brief reference to Bryant's "previous good record" and the fact that he had remained drug-free for nine months. While we do not require a rote recitation of each § 3553(a) factor, the court should explain both the decision to vary and the extent of the variance. United States v. Gatewood, 438 F.3d 894, 896 (8th Cir.2006). The district court presumably intended Bryant's drug rehabilitation and limited criminal history to be relevant to "the history and characteristics of ...