United States v. Lewis ( 2023 )

Case: 22-30339 Document: 00516664832 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/03/2023
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit
____________ United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
No. 22-30339 FILED
Summary Calendar March 3, 2023
____________ Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Tawaski Tavon Lewis,
Defendant—Appellant.
______________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
USDC No. 6:21-CR-232-3
______________________________
Before Higginbotham, Graves, and Ho, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam: *
Tawaski Tavon Lewis appeals the sentence imposed following his
guilty plea conviction for theft of firearms from a federal firearm licensee. He
argues that his 120-month within-guidelines sentence is substantively
unreasonable. We need not determine whether Lewis properly preserved
this issue because his claim fails under the standard of review for preserved
_____________________
*
This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-30339 Document: 00516664832 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/03/2023
No. 22-30339
claims of error. See United States v. Scott, 654 F.3d 552, 555 (5th Cir. 2011).
We review for abuse of discretion. See id.A properly calculated sentence within the guidelines range is
presumptively reasonable. United States v. Cooks, 589 F.3d 173, 186 (5th Cir.
2009). This presumption is rebutted only if the appellant demonstrates that
the sentence does not account for a factor that should receive significant
weight, gives significant weight to an irrelevant or improper factor, or
represents a clear error of judgment in balancing sentencing factors. Id.Lewis fails to rebut the presumption of reasonableness given to his within
guidelines sentence because he does not show that the district court failed to
consider the applicable sentencing guidelines range, the kinds of sentences
available pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 924(i)(1), or certain mitigating
characteristics. See id.; 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Likewise, Lewis does not show
that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in balancing the
sentencing factors when it gave significant weight to his criminal history in
determining his sentence. Instead, his claim invites this court to reweigh the
§ 3553(a) factors and substitute its own judgment on appeal, which we will
not do. See United States v. Hernandez, 876 F.3d 161, 167 (5th Cir. 2017).
The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
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