U.S. v. Goody, 05-2483.

• Decision Date: 31 March 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-2483.,05-2483.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. Jack Leroy GOODY, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

442 F.3d 1132

UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. Jack Leroy GOODY, Appellee.

No. 05-2483.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: January 11, 2006.

Filed: March 31, 2006.

Jason T. Griess, argued, Asst. U.S. Atty., Des Moines, IA, for Appellant.

Mark C. Meyer, argued, Kinnamon & Kinnamon, Cedar Rapids, IA, for Appellee.

Before WOLLMAN, JOHN R. GIBSON, and ARNOLD, Circuit Judges.

ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

Jack Goody pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, see 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(A)(viii), 846, and the district court sentenced him to 72 months' imprisonment. The United States appeals, contending that the sentence is unreasonable. We remand for resentencing.

Mr. Goody, along with several others, manufactured methamphetamine in a shed on his farm. Mr. Goody helped steal methamphetamine precursors and used methamphetamine that the conspiracy produced. Although most of the methamphetamine that the conspirators produced was for their personal use, some was sold to third parties. Mr. Goody hid both the lab and his drug use from his family, co-workers, and community until a police search of the Goody farm revealed a room specially constructed for manufacturing methamphetamine in a shed one hundred yards from the Goody residence. In the room were large quantities of methamphetamine precursors and equipment for making the drug. Mr. Goody tested positive for methamphetamine use while he was awaiting trial, and he deceived his family about his involvement in the drug conspiracy even after pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine.

The offense of conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison, but by submitting to an interview with law enforcement officials in which he revealed all that he knew about the conspiracy, Mr. Goody became eligible for relief under the sentencing guidelines' so-called safety-valve provision, see U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2. This resulted in a reduction in his offense level from 37 to 35. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(7). Both the prosecution and defense agreed that the applicable advisory guideline range in these circumstances was 168 to 210 months' imprisonment. But the district judge sentenced Mr. Goody to 72 months in prison, which was less than half the sentence that the prosecution had requested and ten percent lower than what Mr. Goody himself had asked for.

The United States argues that the district judge inappropriately decided to sentence Mr. Goody below the range specified in the guidelines. When, as here, there is no challenge to the district court's calculation of the guideline range, we review its sentencing decision for reasonableness, taking into account the matters listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). The reasonableness standard is "akin to our traditional review for abuse of discretion." United States v. Gatewood, 438 F.3d 894, 896 (8th Cir.2006). Either the decision to grant a variance from the guideline sentence or the extent of such a variance may cause a sentence to be unreasonable. United States v. Mashek, 406 F.3d 1012, 1017 (8th Cir.2005). Because "[t]he Guidelines were fashioned taking the ... § 3553(a) factors into account and are the product of years of careful study," a decision to grant a § 3553(a) variance from the presumptively reasonable guideline range must be justified by reference to circumstances identified in that section. United States v. Claiborne, 439 F.3d 479, 2006 WL 452899, *1 (8th Cir. Feb.27, 2006). Additionally, we have held that absent exceptional facts, sentencing a defendant to a sentence dramatically lower than that recommended by the guidelines...