US v. Ronald Bryant

Filing 920090330

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 08-4791

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff ­ Appellee, v. RONALD DELANE BRYANT, Defendant ­ Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Durham. N. Carlton Tilley, Jr., Senior District Judge. (1:01-cr-00096-NCT-1)

Submitted:

March 11, 2009

Decided:

March 30, 2009

Before MOTZ and Circuit Judge.

AGEE,

Circuit

Judges,

and

HAMILTON,

Senior

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Todd A. Smith, LAW FIRM OF TODD A. SMITH, Graham, North Carolina, for Appellant. Robert Albert Jamison Lang, Assistant United States Attorney, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM: Ronald Delane Bryant was found in violation of the terms and conditions of his supervised release and was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment, to be followed by twelve

months of supervised release.

On appeal, counsel has filed a In

brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).

the Anders brief, counsel suggests that Bryant's sentence was unreasonable due to his poor mental health and the challenging conditions of the environment in which he was living while

trying to complete supervised release.

We affirm.

This court reviews a sentence imposed as a result of a supervised release violation to determine whether the sentence was plainly unreasonable. 433, 438 (4th Cir. 2006). United States v. Crudup, 461 F.3d The first step in this analysis is Id. at 438. This court,

whether the sentence was unreasonable.

in determining reasonableness, follows generally the procedural and substantive Id. considerations employed in reviewing original

sentences.

If a sentence imposed after a revocation is not

unreasonable, this court will not proceed to the second prong of the analysis--whether the sentence was plainly unreasonable.

Id. at 439. Although a district court must consider the policy

statements in Chapter Seven of the sentencing guidelines along with the statutory requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 3583 (2006) and 2

18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (2006), the district court ultimately has broad discretion to revoke its previous sentence and impose a term of imprisonment up to the statutory maximum. Crudup, 461

F.3d at 439 (quoting United States v. Lewis, 424 F.3d 239, 244 (2d Cir. 2005)). Finally, on review, this court will assume a

deferential appellate posture concerning issues of fact and the exercise of discretion. Bryant's Id. was both procedurally and

sentence

substantively reasonable. grade B offense; this

Bryant's most serious offense was a offense, combined with his criminal

history category of V, resulted in an advisory guidelines range of eighteen to twenty-four months' imprisonment. U.S. Bryant's statutory 18 U.S.C.

Sentencing Guidelines Manual (USSG) § 7B1.4(a) (2007). eighteen-month maximum and sentence his was within the two-year range.

advisory

guidelines

§ 3583(e)(3) (2006).

Prior to imposing sentence, the district

court heard the argument of counsel and Bryant's allocution. Additionally, there is no evidence in the record that the

district court failed to consider the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (2006) factors prior to imposing sentence. See United States v.

Johnson, 138 F.3d 115, 118 (4th Cir. 1998). Bryant's sentence, at the low end of the applicable policy statement range, was also substantively reasonable.

Bryant admitted to multiple violations of the conditions of his 3

supervised release and was given several opportunities by his probation officer to comply with the terms and conditions of his supervised release prior to the probation officer filing a

request for a summons. In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the record in this case and have found no meritorious issues for appeal. We therefore affirm Bryant's sentence. This court requires that

counsel inform Bryant, in writing, of the right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further review. If

Bryant 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 state that a copy thereof was served on Bryant. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal before contentions the court are and adequately argument presented not in aid the the materials decisional

would

process. AFFIRMED

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