United States v. Eric English

Filing

PER CURIAM OPINION FILED - THE COURT: JAMES B. LOKEN, MICHAEL J. MELLOY and BOBBY E. SHEPHERD (UNPUBLISHED) [3774036] [10-3507]

United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

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No. 10-3507
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United States of America,
Appellee,
v.
Eric English,
Appellant.

*
*
*
* Appeal from the United States
* District Court for the
* District of Nebraska.
*
* [UNPUBLISHED]
*
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Submitted: February 14, 2011
Filed: April 6, 2011
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Before LOKEN, MELLOY, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Eric English admitted to two violations of the terms and conditions of his
supervised release. The district court1 calculated an advisory Sentencing Guidelines
range of 5 to 11 months imprisonment but varied upward under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)
and sentenced English to 24 months imprisonment with no additional supervised
release. English appeals, arguing that his sentence was substantively unreasonable
because the district court failed to adequately consider and improperly balanced
relevant factors under section 3553(a). We affirm.
1

The Honorable Richard G. Kopf, United States District Judge for the District
of Nebraska.

Appellate Case: 10-3507

Page: 1

Date Filed: 04/06/2011 Entry ID: 3774036

We review the substantive reasonableness of a revocation sentence under a
deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. United States v. Miller, 557 F.3d 910, 917
(8th Cir. 2009). Although English’s sentence is greater than the advisory Guidelines
range, we conclude the district court considered all of the section 3553(a) factors and
the sentence is substantively reasonable. During the revocation hearing, the district
court discussed the nature and circumstances of the violations, the history and
characteristics of English, the length of English’s advisory Guidelines range, and the
possibility of a non-incarceration sentence. The term of imprisonment imposed was
greater than the advisory Guidelines range, but the court also refrained from requiring
English to serve an additional term of supervised release. United States v. Merrival,
521 F.3d 889, 891 (8th Cir. 2008) (finding such a balancing relevant to substantive
reasonableness). Given English’s recidivism and his lack of cooperation with
probation, it was not an abuse of discretion to conclude that further supervised release
would be pointless. We also have no trouble concluding that these factors, and
English’s continued use of opiates and cocaine when his original offense involved
crack cocaine, make the imposed sentence substantively reasonable.
Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.
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Appellate Case: 10-3507

Page: 2

Date Filed: 04/06/2011 Entry ID: 3774036