US v. Lewis Hardy
Filing
920090417
UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 08-4172
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. LEWIS R. HARDY, Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Walter D. Kelley, Jr., District Judge. (2:07-cr-00120-WDK-JEB-1)
Submitted:
March 27, 2009
Decided:
April 17, 2009
Before GREGORY, SHEDD, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Michael S. Nachmanoff, Federal Public Defender, Frances H. Pratt, Keith Loren Kimball, Assistant Federal Public Defenders, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellant. D. Monique Broadnax, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM: Lewis R. Hardy was convicted after a jury trial of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and
cocaine base ("crack"), in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846 (2006); possession with intent to distribute heroin and
crack, in violation of § 841(a)(1); possession with intent to distribute heroin and crack within 1000 feet of a school, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 860 (2006); and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (2006). a total of 185 months' imprisonment Hardy was sentenced to and now appeals. His
attorney has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967). We affirm Hardy's Hardy has filed a pro se supplemental brief. * conviction, but vacate the sentence, and
remand for resentencing. In the Anders brief, counsel first questions whether the evidence was sufficient to prove that Hardy possessed the narcotics within 1000 feet of a school. A defendant challenging United The
the sufficiency of the evidence faces a heavy burden.
States v. Beidler, 110 F.3d 1064, 1067 (4th Cir. 1997).
*
In his pro se brief, Hardy questions the validity of the indictment and the district court's refusal of the jury's request to review the transcript of four witnesses' testimony. We have considered Hardy's arguments in light of the applicable legal standards and find the claims to be without merit.
2
verdict of a jury must be sustained "if, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the verdict is
supported by substantial evidence." F.3d 209, 216 (4th Cir. 2006). evidence that a reasonable
United States v. Smith, 451 "[S]ubstantial evidence [i]s of fact could accept as
finder
adequate and sufficient to support a conclusion of a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. "Reversal for
insufficient evidence is reserved for the rare case where the prosecution's failure is clear." Beidler, 110 F.3d at 1067
(internal quotation marks and citation omitted). We have reviewed the record and find that it contains sufficient within evidence feet to a prove that Hardy The possessed the drugs of
1000
of
school.
proper
measurement
distance for purposes of § 860 is a straight line; that is, an "as the crow flies" measurement. See, e.g., United States v. In this case, the
Henderson, 320 F.3d 92, 103 (1st Cir. 2003).
distance from the location where Hardy possessed the drugs and the school was only 450 feet, well within § 860's to 1000-foot this as a
requirement. evidence, sufficient the to
Furthermore, jury support could
since have
Hardy
failed
rebut it
reasonably on this
accepted charge
Hardy's
guilt
beyond
reasonable doubt.
Cf. United States v. Glover, 153 F.3d 749,
755 & n.5 (D.C. Cir. 1998) (finding evidence sufficient where an
3
officer
offered
uncontested
testimony
that
he
measured
the
distance himself). Counsel next questions whether the district court
committed plain error in calculating Hardy's criminal history category under the guidelines. in an Anders brief, counsel Although this issue is presented concludes that it is, in fact,
meritorious.
Counsel acknowledges, however, that he failed to
object to the guidelines calculation before the district court. Because this issue was not raised below, we review for plain error. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b); United States v. Olano, 507 To prevail on a claim of unpreserved
U.S. 725, 731-32 (1993).
error, Hardy must show that error occurred, that it was plain, and that it affected his substantial rights. 732. to Olano, 507 U.S. at
Furthermore, this court will not exercise its discretion correct such error or at unless it "seriously reputation affect[s] of the
fairness,
integrity Id.
public 732
judicial marks and
proceedings."
(internal
quotation
citations omitted). In calculating a defendant's criminal history category under the guidelines, two points are added for each conviction for offenses that occurred prior to the defendant turning
eighteen that resulted in a period of confinement for more than sixty days, from which the defendant was released within five years of the present offense conduct. 4 See U.S. Sentencing
Guidelines
Manual
("USSG")
§ 4A1.2(d)(2)(A)
(2007).
Furthermore, the guidelines provide that prior sentences are to be counted separately if there are any intervening arrests
between the offenses. intervening arrest,
See USSG § 4A1.2(a)(2). prior sentences are
"If there is no separately
counted
unless (A) the sentences resulted from offenses contained in the same charging instrument; or (B) the sentences were imposed on the same day." Id. If there was no intervening arrest and
either of those conditions is met, the prior sentences are to be counted as a single sentence in calculating a defendant's
criminal history category. In this case, Hardy's criminal history contained three separate juvenile to there offenses two that met the criteria under the
guidelines However,
receive were no
criminal
history arrests
points between
each. these
intervening
offenses, and Hardy was sentenced for all three on the same day. Therefore, these sentences should have been counted as a single prior sentence. The district court instead counted them
separately, resulting in a total of four criminal history points being erroneously history attributed category to Hardy. III to IV This and increased increased to 108 his his
criminal
from
applicable
guidelines
range
from
eighty-seven
months'
imprisonment to 100 to 125 months' imprisonment. that this constituted plain 5 error that
We conclude Hardy's
affected
substantial rights and that should be noticed on appeal. United States v. Ford, 88 F.3d 1350, 1355-56 (4th Cir. 1996).
See
We have examined the entire record in this case in accordance with the requirements of Anders and have found no other meritorious issues for appeal. his We therefore and affirm for
Hardy's
conviction,
vacate
sentence,
remand
resentencing. (2007). We
See Gall v. United States, 128 S. Ct. 586, 597 further deny Hardy's motion for grand jury
transcripts. writing, of
This court requires that counsel inform Hardy, in the right to petition the Supreme Court of the
United States for further review.
If Hardy requests that a
petition be filed, but counsel believes that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in this court for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel's motion must We dispense with contentions the court are and
state that a copy thereof was served on Hardy. oral argument because in the the facts and legal before
adequately
presented
materials
argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED
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