US v. Zayas-Ortiz

Filing

OPINION issued by Jeffrey R. Howard, Chief Appellate Judge; Norman H. Stahl, Appellate Judge and William J. Kayatta, Jr., Appellate Judge. Published. [15-1449]

Case: 15-1449

Document: 00116930292

Page: 1

Date Filed: 12/11/2015

Entry ID: 5960950

United States Court of Appeals
For the First Circuit

No. 15-1449
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Appellee,
v.
EMMANUEL ZAYAS-ORTIZ,
Defendant, Appellant.

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
[Hon. José A. Fusté, U.S. District Judge]

Before
Howard, Chief Judge,
Stahl and Kayatta, Circuit Judges.

Patricia A. Garrity, Research and Writing Specialist, Eric
A. Vos, Federal Public Defender, and Vivianne M. Marrero-Torres,
Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender, on brief for
appellant.
Nelson Pérez-Sosa, Assistant United States Attorney, Chief,
Appellate Division, Susan Z. Jorgensen, Assistant United States
Attorney, and Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, United States
Attorney, on brief for appellee.

December 11, 2015

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Document: 00116930292

Page: 2

STAHL, Circuit Judge.
United

States

Emmanuel

Sentencing

Zayas-Ortiz

filed

Date Filed: 12/11/2015

Following an amendment to the

Guidelines,
a

motion

pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c).

Defendant-Appellant

for

sentence

reduction

The motion was opposed by the

United States and the probation officer.

The district court

denied the motion with a short form order.
appeals.

Entry ID: 5960950

The defendant now

We affirm.
I.

Facts & Background

On December 12, 2005, Emmanuel Zayas-Ortiz ("Zayas")
was charged, along with sixty-five co-defendants, with knowingly
and

intentionally

agreeing

to

narcotics;

conspiring,

possess,

with

specifically,

combining,

intent

five

to

confederating,

distribute,

kilograms

or

more

and

controlled
of

cocaine,

fifty grams or more of cocaine base, and one kilogram or more of
heroin.

Zayas eventually entered into a plea agreement with the

United States, which stipulated, inter alia, that Zayas was one
of the drug trafficking operation's leaders, that Zayas was an
"enforcer" and owned "drug points" where the illicit products
were sold, and that Zayas possessed a firearm in the course of
the offense.
Consistent
recommended

the

with

following

this

agreement,

sentencing
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the

calculations

parties
under

the

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Entry ID: 5960950

United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual ("U.S.S.G." or "the
guidelines"):

Zayas

thirty-eight

for

841(b)(1)(A),

and

would

receive

violations
846.

of

Pursuant

a

base

18
to

offense

U.S.C.

§§

U.S.S.G.

level

of

841(a)(1),

§ 3B1.1,

Zayas

would receive a two-level enhancement for his leadership role in
the

conspiracy,

and,

pursuant

to

U.S.S.G.

§ 2D1.1,

he

would

receive another two-level enhancement for the use of firearms
within

the

offset

conspiracy.

by

a

These

three-level

increases

would

reduction

for

be

partially

acceptance

of

responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(a) and (b), resulting in a
total

adjusted

offense

level

of

thirty-nine

imprisonment range of 262 to 327 months.

and

yielding

an

The parties agreed to

recommend a term of imprisonment of 264 months.

The probation

officer prepared a Pre-Sentence Report ("PSR") with calculations
mirroring those found in the plea agreement.
On
Zayas

at

the

January
bottom

17,
of

2007,
the

the

district

guidelines

range

court
to

sentenced
a

term

of

imprisonment of 262 months and a supervised release term of five
years.

That judgment was appealed and subsequently affirmed by

this Court.
This recitation is merely background for purposes of
the instant appeal.

On March 9, 2009, Zayas filed his first
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Document: 00116930292

motion

to

pursuant

reduce

to

his

amendments

Page: 4

sentence
706

and

Date Filed: 12/11/2015

under
711

to

18

U.S.C.

the

Entry ID: 5960950

§

3582(c),

guidelines.

The

government stipulated to the reduction, which resulted in a twopoint

offense

level

decrease,

an

adjusted

offense

level

of

thirty-seven, and an amended sentencing range of 210 to 262
months.

The district court granted the motion, sentencing Zayas

at the bottom of the now-amended guidelines range to a term of
imprisonment of 210 months.
The district court was faced with a case of déjà vu
when,

on

reduce

December

pursuant

his
to

20,

sentence

2011,

under

amendments

748

Zayas

filed

18

U.S.C.

and

750

to

§

a

second

3582(c),

the

motion

to

this

time

guidelines.

The

government again stipulated to the reduction, which resulted in
another two-point offense level decrease, an adjusted offense
level of thirty-five, and an amended sentencing range of 168 to
210 months.

The district court granted the motion, sentencing

Zayas at the bottom of the amended guidelines range to a term of
imprisonment of 168 months.
On November 7, 2014, the court then faced "déjà vu all
over again," as the late Yogi Berra might have said, when the
defendant filed his third motion to reduce his sentence under 18
U.S.C. § 3582(c), this time pursuant to amendments 782 and 788
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to the guidelines.

Page: 5

Date Filed: 12/11/2015

Entry ID: 5960950

This reduction would have resulted in yet

another two-point offense level decrease, an adjusted offense
level of thirty-three, and a sentencing range of 135 to 168
months.

But

stipulating
probation

this

to

the

officer

time

there

reduction,

opposed

the

was

a

both

twist.

the

motion,

Rather

government

citing

the

and

than
the

defendant's

leadership and enforcement roles, ownership of drug points, and
possession of a dangerous weapon in the course of the offense
conduct.
In response, the defendant urged the district court to
reject the government's position.

The defendant argued that

these factors had already been accounted for when the sentence
was initially imposed and did not, taken alone, reflect any
increased danger to public safety.
positive

disciplinary

The defendant also noted his

record

and

rehabilitative

efforts

in

2015,

the

district

denied

the

prison.
On

March

16,

motion using a form order.

court

The form states, in relevant part

that, "having considered [the defendant's] motion, and taking
into

account

§ 1B1.10

and

the
the

policy

statement

sentencing

factors

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set
set

forth
forth

at

[U.S.S.G.]

in

18

U.S.C.

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Entry ID: 5960950

§ 3553(a), to the extent that they are applicable, . . . the
motion is DENIED."

This appeal followed.
II.

Analysis

"'[A] judgment of conviction that includes [a sentence
of imprisonment] constitutes a final judgment' and may not be
modified by a district court except in limited circumstances."
Dillon v. United States, 560 U.S. 817, 824 (2010) (quoting 18
U.S.C.

§

3582(b)).

The

district

court's

power

under

§ 3582(c)(2) to reduce the prison term of a defendant who was
sentenced based on a guidelines range that has subsequently been
lowered

by

the

"Commission")

United

constitutes

States
one

Sentencing

such

"exception

rule of finality" governing such sentences.

Commission
to

the

(the

general

Id.

District courts proceeding under § 3582(c)(2) follow a
two-step approach.

United States v. Candelaria-Silva, 714 F.3d

651, 656 (1st Cir. 2013).
prisoner's

eligibility

for

First, the court determines "the
a

sentence

extent of the reduction authorized."
U.S. at 827).

modification

and

the

Id. (quoting Dillon, 560

At this stage, "the court considers whether it

has the legal authority to grant the reduction requested; thus,
its conclusions of law are reviewed de novo, and its factual
findings, for clear error."

Id.
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Second,

the

Page: 7

court

Date Filed: 12/11/2015

"consider[s]

any

Entry ID: 5960950

applicable

§ 3553(a) factors and determine[s] whether, in its discretion,
the reduction . . . is warranted in whole or in part under the
particular circumstances of the case."

Dillon, 560 U.S. at 827.

"Decisions at this stage are reviewed for abuse of discretion,
as the question whether to reduce a final sentence pursuant to
§ 3582(c)(2) 'is a matter [Congress] committed to the sentencing
court's sound discretion.'"

Candelaria-Silva, 714 F.3d at 656

(quoting United States v. Aponte–Guzmán, 696 F.3d 157, 159–61
(1st Cir. 2012)).

As such, even where the first step has been

met, and the defendant has been determined eligible to seek a
§ 3582(c) reduction, "the district judge may conclude that a
reduction would be inappropriate."

Freeman v. United States,

131 S. Ct. 2685, 2694 (2011).
Zayas

contends

that

the

district

court

abused

its

discretion by failing to consider the § 3553(a) factors and by
failing to give sufficient reasons for its decision.1

He claims

1

The government urges us to consider the defendant's
argument waived because he failed to sufficiently cite or
develop the argument in his brief.
We assume without deciding
that Zayas did not waive his argument.
It is a "settled
appellate rule that issues adverted to in a perfunctory manner,
unaccompanied by some effort at developed argumentation, are
deemed waived."
United States v. Zannino, 895 F.2d 1, 17 (1st

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that one cannot discern what factors, if any, the court relied
on

in

denying

his

motion.

According

to

Zayas,

"no

reasons

whatsoever were given by the district court in its order denying
[his]

motion

and

there

is

no

correlation

factors set forth in § 3553(a)."
was

an

error

discretion.

of

law

to

the

statutory

This, the defendant contends,

necessarily

constituting

an

abuse

of

See United States v. Caraballo, 552 F.3d 6, 8 (1st

Cir. 2008) ("A material error of law is perforce an abuse of
discretion.").
Despite the district court's admittedly Spartan denial
order, the defendant's argument comes up short.2

Zayas himself

acknowledges that the judge is not required to articulate the
applicability of each factor, "as long as the record as a whole
'demonstrates that the pertinent factors were taken into account

Cir. 1990). As this Court has noted, "[i]t is not enough merely
to mention a possible argument in the most skeletal way, leaving
the court to do counsel's work, create the ossature for the
argument, and put flesh on its bones."
Id.
This rule is
commonly deployed, however, against ancillary arguments tossed
carelessly against the wall in the hope that one might stick.
Despite the paucity of authority offered by the appellant in
support of his position, we need not explore the contours of
this convention, for the appeal fails on the merits.
2

The parties do not truly contest the defendant's
eligibility for the reduction under step one of the analysis, so
we proceed directly to step two.

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by the district court.'"

Date Filed: 12/11/2015

Entry ID: 5960950

United States v. Vautier, 144 F.3d

756, 762 (11th Cir. 1998) (quoting United States v. Eggersdorf,
126

F.3d

context,

1318,
we

considered

1322

have
the

(11th

held

that

relevant

§

Cir.
a

1997)).

judge's

3553(a)

In

the

statement

factors

"is

sentencing

that

he

entitled

has
to

significant weight."

United States v. Santiago-Rivera, 744 F.3d

229,

2014)

233

(1st

Cir.

(citing

United

González, 595 F.3d 42, 49 (1st Cir. 2010)).

States

v.

Dávila–

Zayas has offered

no reason why this rule should not apply with equal force in the
§ 3582(c) context.
Here, the district court utilized a form order that
explicitly states that the judge "[took] into account the policy
statement set forth at [U.S.S.G.] § 1B1.10 and the sentencing
factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)[.]"

Zayas derides this

as "stock language," but fails to provide any rationale as to
why the judge must type this phase afresh for each and every
reduction order rather than saving himself the effort by relying
upon a form prepared for this very purpose.
Moreover, the record as a whole is sufficient for us
to infer the pertinent factors taken into account by the court
below.

United States v. Rodriguez-Rivera, 473 F.3d 21, 29 (1st

Cir. 2007) ("[A] court's reasoning can often be inferred by
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comparing what was argued by the parties or contained in the
pre-sentence report with what the judge did.") (quoting United
States v. Jiménez-Beltre, 440 F.3d 514, 519 (1st Cir. 2006) (en
banc)).
safety

The

government

concerns

appropriate

and

given

opposed

argued

the

the

that

a

defendant's

motion

based

reduction

leadership

on

public

would
and

not

be

enforcement

roles, ownership of drug points, and possession of a dangerous
weapon in the course of the offense conduct.

The probation

officer's recommendation echoed this assessment.

The need for a

sentence

to

§ 3553(a)

protect

the

factors.

determining

the

public

See

§

particular

is,

of

course,

3553(a)(2)(C)
sentence

to

one

("The
be

of

court,

imposed,

the
in

shall

consider . . . the need for the sentence imposed . . . to
protect

the

public

defendant . . . .").
arguing

that

government's
§ 3553(a)

from

In

fact,

"[n]either

further

[the

response

inquiry

(emphasis added).

Zayas

finds

defendant's]

discussed

(aside

crimes

from

factors
public

of

himself

the

awkwardly

motion

nor

the

relevant

to

the

safety

concerns)."

This is somewhat akin to a restauranteur

advising an allergic patron that his meal contains no shellfish
(aside from shrimp).

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Perhaps

aware

Page: 11

of

his

advances one final argument.

Date Filed: 12/11/2015

weak

position,

the

Entry ID: 5960950

defendant

Zayas says that if the public

safety factor was determinative, then the district court would
not have granted his two prior reductions; ergo, the court could
not

have

safety.
sauce

denied

his

third

reduction

on

the

basis

of

public

While this argument is worth considering, it is more

than

substance.

There

is

nothing

incongruent

about

believing that successive reductions in a defendant's sentence
are

only

warranted

up

to

a

point.

The

district

court

was

entitled to determine that a reduction from 262 months to 210
months was warranted, and that a reduction from 210 months to
168 months was warranted, but that a reduction from 168 months
to 135 months would be the proverbial bridge too far.
The

defendant

must

remember

that

the

Commission's

authorization of a discretionary reduction "does not entitle a
defendant
right."

to

a

reduced

term

of

imprisonment

U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10 cmt. background.

as

a

matter

of

Rather, the final

decision is entrusted to "the sound discretion of the court."
Id.

Although the Commission's amendments reflect a generalized

determination that the reduction "should not jeopardize public
safety,"
amendments

U.S.S.G.
also

supplement

recognize

the

to

app.

court's

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C
role

amend.
in

782,

conducting

the
an

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Entry ID: 5960950

individualized assessment into whether retroactive application
is warranted on a case-by-case basis, see U.S.S.G. supplement to
app. C amend. 788 ("[P]ublic safety will be considered in every
case . . . in determining whether . . . a reduction in the
defendant's term of imprisonment is warranted . . . .") (citing
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10, cmt. n.1(B)(ii)) (emphasis added).
In

short,

the

record

adequately

reflects

upon which the defendant's motion was denied.

the

basis

We recognize that

the court could have expounded further upon the basis for its
decision.

Even a single sentence incorporating the government's

or probation officer's position might have spared this case a
trip to the seat of the First Circuit and all the attendant
effort

and

expense

associated

therewith.

However,

on

this

record, we cannot say that the court abused its discretion in
denying the defendant's motion.
III.

Conclusion

For the foregoing reasons, the judgment is AFFIRMED.

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