USA v. Julius Stevens, No. 11-15739 (11th Cir. 2012)
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[DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FILED U.S. COURT OF APPEALS ________________________ No. 11-15739 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT MAY 14, 2012 JOHN LEY CLERK D.C. Docket No. 1:99-cr-00003-WPD-14 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee, versus JULIUS STEVENS, a.k.a. Judog, llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida ________________________ (May 14, 2012) Before TJOFLAT, WILSON and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Julius Stevens appeals pro se the district court s denial of his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) motion to reduce his sentence based on Amendment 750 to the Sentencing Guidelines. After review, we affirm the district court. We review de novo the district court s legal conclusion, made pursuant to a § 3582(c)(2) proceeding, about the scope of its authority under the Guidelines. United States v. White, 305 F.3d 1264, 1267 (11th Cir. 2002) (per curiam). Where a retroactively applicable Guideline amendment reduces a defendant s base level offense but does not alter the sentence range upon which his sentence was based, the district court is not authorized to grant a sentence reduction pursuant to § 3582(c)(2). United States v. Moore, 541 F.3d 1323, 1330 (11th Cir. 2008). Stevens was convicted on drug charges, and his base offense level was calculated to be 32, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1. However, because he qualified as a career offender under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1, Stevens was assigned an offense level of 37 and criminal history category of VI. That resulted in a Guidelines range of 262 to 327 months of imprisonment, and the district court imposed a low-end sentence of 262 months. Amendment 750 to the Guidelines affects the calculation of sentences under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1. Because of his status as a career offender, Stevens s sentence was imposed pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. The changes enacted in Amendment 2 750 thus have no effect on Stevens s applicable sentencing range. See Moore, 541 F.3d at 1330 (holding that a defendant originally sentenced as a career offender could not receive the benefit of a Guidelines Amendment because it would not have the effect of lowering the applicable Guidelines range). Stevens s additional arguments concerning the Fair Sentencing Act similarly do not require reversal. Section 3582(c)(2) permits a defendant to seek reduction of his imposed sentence when the Guidelines range has been lowered by the Sentencing Commission. This Section does not authorize a court to alter a sentence based on a legislative change to an already-imposed statutory mandatory minimum sentence. Therefore, Stevens cannot succeed in reducing his sentence under either of his theories. AFFIRMED. 3
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