United States v. Jackson Baugus ( 2020 )


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  •                            NOT FOR PUBLICATION                           FILED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                        MAR 9 2020
    MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
    U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,                       No. 19-30099
    Plaintiff-Appellee,             D.C. No. 1:02-cr-00133-SPW-1
    v.
    JACKSON BRYANT BAUGUS,                          MEMORANDUM*
    Defendant-Appellant.
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the District of Montana
    Susan P. Watters, District Judge, Presiding
    Submitted March 3, 2020**
    Before:      MURGUIA, CHRISTEN, and BADE, Circuit Judges.
    Jackson Bryant Baugus appeals pro se from the district court’s order denying
    his motion for “Plain-Error Review, Fed. R. Crim. Proc. 52(b),” and its order
    denying his motion for reconsideration. We have jurisdiction under 
    28 U.S.C. § 1291
    , and we affirm.
    *
    This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
    except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
    **
    The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
    without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
    Baugus’s motion alleged various Guidelines calculation and other
    sentencing errors. Because these claims challenged the legality of Baugus’s
    sentence, the district court did not err in treating his motion as one arising under 
    28 U.S.C. § 2255
    . See Muth v. Fondren, 
    676 F.3d 815
    , 818 (9th Cir. 2012) (“A
    motion under § 2255 is generally the exclusive remedy for a federal prisoner who
    seeks to challenge the legality of confinement.”). Moreover, the district court
    correctly concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider his claims because he had
    not obtained authorization from this court to file a second or successive § 2255
    motion. See 
    28 U.S.C. § 2255
    (h); United States v. Lopez, 
    577 F.3d 1053
    , 1061
    (9th Cir. 2009). Finally, the district court was not required to refer Baugus’s
    unauthorized motion to this court, see 9th Cir. R. 22-3(a).
    Baugus also argues on appeal that the district court erred when it granted in
    part his 
    18 U.S.C. § 3582
    (c)(2) motion and reduced his sentence to 272 months.
    This argument is not properly before the court because Baugus did not make it in
    the Rule 52(b) motion at issue in this appeal. Even if Baugus’s notice of appeal
    could be construed to evince an intent to appeal the district court’s earlier order
    granting the reduction under § 3582(c)(2), it was untimely. See Fed. R. App. P.
    4(b); United States v. Ono, 
    72 F.3d 101
    , 102-03 (9th Cir. 1995) (because an order
    granting or denying a § 3582(c)(2) motion is “criminal in nature,” an appeal from
    such an order must be brought within the time limits set by Federal Rule of
    2                                      19-30099
    Appellate Procedure 4(b)). Because the government has raised this timeliness bar,
    we will not consider Baugus’s arguments regarding his § 3582(c)(2) motion. See
    United States v. Sadler, 
    480 F.3d 932
    , 942 (9th Cir. 2007).
    AFFIRMED.
    3                                 19-30099