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United States v. Janell Fisher, 4th Cir. (2014)

This document summarizes a United States Court of Appeals case in which Janell Tovah Fisher appealed his 120-month sentence for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The Court of Appeals found Fisher's sentence to be both procedurally and substantively reasonable. It determined that the district court properly calculated the sentencing guidelines, treated them as advisory, considered the Section 3553(a) factors, and adequately explained its decision to impose an above-guidelines sentence based on Fisher's extensive criminal history and the need for deterrence and public protection. While the district court did not specifically address potential sentencing disparities, the Court of Appeals concluded it had taken all sentencing factors into account. Considering the totality of circumstances, including the extent of

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156 views4 pages

United States v. Janell Fisher, 4th Cir. (2014)

This document summarizes a United States Court of Appeals case in which Janell Tovah Fisher appealed his 120-month sentence for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The Court of Appeals found Fisher's sentence to be both procedurally and substantively reasonable. It determined that the district court properly calculated the sentencing guidelines, treated them as advisory, considered the Section 3553(a) factors, and adequately explained its decision to impose an above-guidelines sentence based on Fisher's extensive criminal history and the need for deterrence and public protection. While the district court did not specifically address potential sentencing disparities, the Court of Appeals concluded it had taken all sentencing factors into account. Considering the totality of circumstances, including the extent of

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UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS


FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13-4502

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,


Plaintiff Appellee,
v.
JANELL TOVAH FISHER,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Richmond.
Henry E. Hudson, District
Judge. (3:13-cr-00024-HEH-1)

Submitted:

January 27, 2014

Decided:

February 11, 2014

Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Mark Bodner, Fairfax, Virginia, for Appellant. Dana J. Boente,


Acting United States Attorney, Erik S. Siebert, Assistant United
States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:
Janell

Tovah

Fisher

appeals

from

the

120-month

sentence imposed by the district court after his guilty plea to


possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21
U.S.C. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C) (2012).

On appeal, Fisher claims

that his sentence is procedurally and substantively unreasonable


because the district court (1) overstated his criminal history
and failed to consider the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) (2012) factors
when

imposing

an

upward

variance;

(2)

failed

to

consider

unwarranted sentencing disparities that could result from the


imposition

of

the

upward

variance;

excessively lengthy upward variance.

and

(3)

imposed

an

We affirm.

We review a sentence for reasonableness, applying an


abuse of discretion standard.
38, 46, 51 (2007).

Gall v. United States, 552 U.S.

We first review for significant procedural

error, and, if the sentence is free from such error, we then


consider the substantive reasonableness of the sentence.
51.

Procedural

error

includes

improperly

Id. at

calculating[]

the

Guidelines range, treating the Guidelines as mandatory, failing


to

consider

adequately

the

explain

3553(a)
the

factors,

chosen

sentence.

or

Id.

failing

to

Substantive

reasonableness is determined by considering the totality of the


circumstances, including the extent of any variance from the
Guidelines range.

Id.

An upward variance is permitted where


2

justified by the 3553(a) factors.

See id.

We must give due

deference to the district courts decision that the 3553(a)


factors, on a whole, justify the extent of the variance, and
the fact that we might find a different sentence appropriate is
insufficient to justify reversal of the district court.
first

is

procedurally

sentence

We

conclude

that

Fishers

reasonable. *

Id.

above-Guidelines

The

district

court

properly calculated Fishers Guidelines range (and Fisher does


not

contend

adequately

otherwise),
explained

treated

the

the

selected

range

as

advisory,

sentence.

The

and

court

specifically explained that Fishers above-Guidelines sentence


was

warranted

because

the

offense

indicated

involvement

in

significant drug-trafficking activity, Fisher had an extensive


criminal record, and Fishers prior experience with the criminal
justice

system

lacked

the

desired

deterrent

effect.

In

addition, the court considered that the total offense level was
inadequate to reflect Fishers criminal history.

Further, the

court

noting

explicitly

addressed

Fishers

arguments,

that

counsels arguments had persuaded it to impose a sentence lower


than

the

sentence

advocated

by

the

Government.

While

the

district court did not specifically address Fishers argument

The advisory Guidelines range was seventy to eighty-seven


months.

regarding
state

unwarranted

that

Because

it

the

took

sentencing

into

account

disparities,

district

court

all

the

clearly

the

court

sentencing
considered

did

factors.
Fishers

individual circumstances, we conclude that Fishers sentence is


procedurally reasonable.
We also hold that Fishers sentence is substantively
reasonable,
including
sentence

considering
the

is

extent

nearly

the
of

three

totality

the

of

the

variance.

years

above

circumstances,

Although
the

Fishers

high-end

of

the

advisory Guidelines range, the district court did not abuse its
discretion in determining that such a deviation was justified by
the 3553(a) factors, including Fishers criminal history, the
need to protect the public, and the need to provide adequate
deterrence.

Thus, we conclude that Fishers 120-month sentence

is reasonable.
Accordingly, we affirm the district courts judgment.
We

dispense

contentions

with
are

oral

argument

adequately

because

presented

in

the

facts

and

the

materials

legal
before

this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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