USA v. Knatt

Filing 920080813

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED
No. 07-31087 Summary Calendar
August 13, 2008 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Plaintiff-Appellee v. PEYTON EARL KNATT Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 6:06-CR-60007-2

Before JOLLY, BENAVIDES, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Peyton Earl Knatt appeals the sentence imposed after his guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine and marijuana. As the Government concedes, the district court, lacking the benefit of the Supreme Court's recent decisions in Gall v. United States, __U.S.__, 128 S. Ct. 586 (2007), and Kimbrough v. United States, __U.S.__, 128 S. Ct. 558 (2007), erroneously believed itself constrained by this court's pre-Gall jurisprudence from imposing

Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.

*

No. 07-31087 a nonguidelines sentence. The district court expressly stated that it would have imposed a different sentence but for the perceived constraints. Because the district court essentially treated the Guidelines as mandatory in this case, the sentence was procedurally unreasonable. See Gall, 128 S. Ct. at 597. The sentence is therefore VACATED and the case is REMANDED for resentencing.

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