US v. Robert Brown
Filing
920090909
UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 09-4068
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. ROBERT CURTIS BROWN, Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Charleston. David C. Norton, District Judge. (2:05-cr-00825-DCN-1)
Submitted:
August 21, 2009
Decided:
September 9, 2009
Before KING, DUNCAN, and AGEE, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Ann Briks Walsh, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellant. W. Walter Wilkins, United States Attorney, Eric J. Klumb, Assistant United States Attorney, Charleston, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM: Robert Curtis Brown appeals the district court's On in
denial of his motion for amended sentence and judgment. appeal, Brown asserts that the district court erred
determining that it did not have authority to sentence him below his mandatory minimum sentence, in order that he receive credit for time spent in prison for violating his New York parole. Because the district court did not have jurisdiction to
entertain Brown's motion for amended sentence and judgment, we affirm. "`Every federal appellate court has a special
obligation to satisfy itself not only of its own jurisdiction, but also that of the lower courts in a cause under review.'" United States v. Poole, 531 F.3d 263, 270 (4th Cir. 2008)
(quoting Bender v. Williamsport Area Sch. Dist., 475 U.S. 534, 541 (1986)) (alterations omitted). A district Id. court does not court's
assumption of jurisdiction is reviewed de novo. With limited exceptions, a district
have jurisdiction to modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed. 18 U.S.C. is § 3582(c) to (2006). Brown's None of the
exceptions,
however,
applicable
circumstances.
Pursuant to Rule 35(a), a court may correct a sentence within seven days of sentencing that resulted from "arithmetical,
technical, or other clear error." 2
Because Brown's motion was
filed
nearly
two
years
after
sentencing,
Rule
35(a)
was
unavailable to Brown.
Under Rule 36, a court may, at any time,
correct a clerical error in a judgment, order, or in the record. However, Rule 36 does not allow a court to revisit a sentence to apply a downward departure to account for time served, as such a correction is "aimed at remedying an error of law, not an error of transcription." (2d Cir. 1995). Brown argues that the district court's statement that "[o]nce we find out whether the [Bureau of Prisons] give[s] him credit based on that, if we need to put anything else on the record, need to send them a letter, anything like that, I'll be glad to do that," was sufficient to allow the district court to retain jurisdiction that to Brown ensure get the enforcement time served of in its New United States v. Werber, 51 F.3d 342, 348
recommendation York.
credit
for
However, the assertion is belied by statute and Supreme Under 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b) (2006), a "defendant credit toward the service of a term of
Court precedent. shall be given
imprisonment for any time he has spent in official detention prior to the date the sentence commences." however, does not permit a district court Section 3585(b), to determine the
extent of such credit at sentencing. 503 U.S. 329, 334 (1992).
United States v. Wilson,
Only the Attorney General, acting
3
through the Bureau of Prisons, may compute sentencing credit. Id. at 334-35. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. legal before We dispense with oral argument because the facts and contentions the court are and adequately argument presented not in aid the the materials decisional
would
process. AFFIRMED
4
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?