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[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 19-13699
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 3:18-cr-00068-RV-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
RICKY LEE JACKSON,
a.k.a. Robert Simpson, III,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Florida
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(May 28, 2020)
Before WILSON, JILL PRYOR and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
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Ricky Lee Jackson appeals his 96-month prison sentence, which the district
court imposed after he pled guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a
convicted felon. After careful review, we affirm.
I. BACKGROUND
Jackson pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to a single count indictment
charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18
U.S.C. §§ 922(g), 924(a)(2). In anticipation of sentencing, the probation office
prepared a presentence investigation report (“PSR”).1 The PSR calculated a base
offense level of 24 under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1 because Jackson committed the offense
after having sustained at least two felony convictions for either a crime of violence
or a controlled substance offense. The PSR noted that those qualifying convictions
were a 2007 South Dakota conviction for possession with intent to distribute more
than one ounce but less than one-half pound of marijuana and a 2012 Iowa
conviction for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, a controlled substance.
After a three-level reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1 for acceptance of
responsibility, the PSR calculated a total offense level of 21. The PSR noted a
number of prior convictions and that Jackson committed the instant offense while
on parole and calculated 37 criminal history points, for a total criminal history
1
We recount here the calculations and facts set forth in the final, revised PSR in this
case.
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category of VI. A total offense level of 21 and a criminal history category of VI
yielded a guidelines range of 77 to 96 months’ imprisonment.
Jackson filed a sentencing memorandum in which he requested a downward
variance, arguing that the two convictions upon which his base offense level was
calculated involved small amounts of marijuana and that he never actually intended
to distribute the marijuana. He acknowledged that the base offense level
calculation from U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1 was correct but argued that had the convictions
been for simple possession, his base offense level would have been 14, yielding a
guidelines range of 30 to 37 months. Jackson also emphasized several mitigating
factors, including that his stepfather sold drugs when Jackson was a child,
contributing to Jackson’s primarily drug-related criminal history; he was exposed
to alcohol at an early age; and his father died when he was seven. The PSR
included these facts as well. Jackson attached to the memorandum letters to the
court from his 12-year-old daughter, girlfriend, and mother, all of which attested to
Jackson’s good character and requested leniency. He also attached a letter he
wrote the court apologizing for the offense.
At sentencing, the district court stated that it had read Jackson’s
memorandum and the letters attached to it. The court noted Jackson’s extensive
criminal history—with “probably about as many” criminal history points and
“about as many” arrest entries as it had ever seen—but that many of those crimes
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were possession offenses. Doc. 61 at 10-11. 2 Jackson again requested a
downward variance, reiterating the arguments in his sentencing memorandum and
explaining that he had a drug problem currently and for his whole life. He argued
that § 2K2.1 failed to account for differences in drug types and asked the court to
consider that he was only convicted of possession of marijuana.
The district court sentenced Jackson to 96 months’ imprisonment. The court
explained that in crafting the sentence it had carefully reviewed the PSR, the letters
submitted on Jackson’s behalf, his attorney’s arguments, his sentencing
memorandum, and his “very significant past criminal history.”
Id. at 15. The
court also stated that it had reviewed the sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a) and that the sentence was “intended to meet the sentencing goals of
punishment,” general deterrence, specific deterrence, and public safety.
Id.
This is Jackson’s appeal.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
We review the reasonableness of a sentence under a deferential abuse of
discretion standard, considering the totality of the circumstances and the
sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).3 Gall v. United States, 552
2
Citations in the form “Doc. #” refer to numbered entries on the district court’s docket.
3
Jackson did not specifically object to the sentence the district court imposed, but his
challenge is preserved because he requested a below-guideline sentence during the sentencing
hearing and explained the basis for that request. See Holguin-Hernandez v. United States, 140 S.
Ct. 762, 766-67 (2020) (holding that a defendant’s argument for a specific sentence preserved his
substantive reasonableness claim on appeal).
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U.S. 38, 41 (2007). Under § 3553(a), the district court is required to impose a
sentence “sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes”
of § 3553(a)(2)—the need to reflect the seriousness of the offense; promote respect
for the law; provide just punishment; deter criminal conduct; protect the public
from the defendant’s future criminal conduct; and effectively provide the
defendant with educational or vocational training, medical care, or other
correctional treatment. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2). The court must also consider the
nature and circumstances of the offense, the history and characteristics of the
defendant, the kinds of sentences available, the applicable guidelines range, the
pertinent policy statements of the Sentencing Commission, the need to avoid
unwarranted sentencing disparities, and the need to provide restitution to victims.
Id. § 3553(a)(1), (3)-(7). The sentencing court may base its findings of fact on
facts admitted by a defendant’s plea of guilty, undisputed statements in the PSI, or
evidence presented at the sentencing hearing. United States v. Saunders,
318 F.3d
1257, 1271 n.22 (11th Cir. 2003).
The party challenging a sentence bears the burden of proving the sentence is
unreasonable. United States v. Tome,
611 F.3d 1371, 1378 (11th Cir. 2010). A
district court imposes a substantively unreasonable sentence when it fails to afford
consideration to relevant factors that were due significant weight, gives significant
weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, or commits a clear error of judgment in
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considering the proper factors. United States v. Irey,
612 F.3d 1160, 1189 (11th
Cir. 2010) (en banc). The district court is free to “attach great weight to one factor
over others.” United States v. Rosales-Bruno,
789 F.3d 1249, 1254 (11th Cir.
2015) (internal quotation marks omitted). But a sentencing court’s “single-
minded[]” focus on one factor to the detriment of other relevant sentencing factors
“is a symptom of an unreasonable sentence.” United States v. Crisp,
454 F.3d
1285, 1292 (11th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted).
We do not apply a presumption of reasonableness to sentences within the
guidelines range, but we ordinarily expect such a sentence to be reasonable.
United States v. Stanley,
739 F.3d 633, 656 (11th Cir. 2014). Also, a sentence
imposed well below the statutory maximum is an indicator of a reasonable
sentence.
Id. We will vacate a sentence only if we are “left with the definite and
firm conviction that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in
weighing the § 3553(a) factors by arriving at a sentence that lies outside the range
of reasonable sentences dictated by the facts of the case.”
Irey, 612 F.3d at 1190
(internal quotation marks omitted).
III. DISCUSSION
Jackson argues that his sentence is substantively unreasonable because the
court was required to consider his mitigation argument that his qualifying
controlled substance offenses involved only marijuana in relatively small amounts,
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which warranted a downward variance. He argues that the court’s “cursory
acknowledgment” of this argument was so inadequate that it rendered his sentence
substantively unreasonable. Appellant’s Br. at 12.
Regardless of whether we would have imposed the same term of
incarceration had we been tasked with sentencing Jackson in the first instance, we
cannot say that the district court abused its discretion in imposing a sentence of 96
months. First, Jackson agreed at sentencing that the guideline calculations in the
PSR were correct, and he acknowledged in his sentencing memorandum that the
PSR’s calculation of his base offense level of 24 under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(2) was
correct. Second, Jackson’s argument that the district court did not meaningfully
consider his mitigation argument is belied by the record. The district court twice
stated that it had read the sentencing memorandum. Defense counsel argued
zealously that Jackson’s criminal history points and category overstated the
seriousness of his prior offenses, and the court stated that it had listened to what
Jackson’s “attorney has said here today.” Doc. 61 at 14. The court also reviewed
the PSR, which explained the nature of Jackson’s prior crimes as well as the
mitigating facts Jackson argued in his sentencing memorandum. The sentencing
hearing was short, occupying only 18 pages of transcript, but it is clear from the
record that the district court’s analysis was not cursory. Third, the district court
based its decision on proper factors, expressly invoking several factors set forth in
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§ 3553(a). See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2)(A)-(C). The district court was within its
discretion to place great weight on Jackson’s criminal history. See
Rosales-Bruno,
789 F.3d at 1254.
Jackson’s arguments on appeal have not left us with a definite and firm
conviction that the district court committed a clear error of judgment. See
Irey,
612 F.3d at 1190. We therefore affirm his sentence.
AFFIRMED.
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