USA v. James Christopher Turk, No. 07-10660 (11th Cir. 2007)
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[DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS ________________________ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT No. 07-10660 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ JULY 23, 2007 THOMAS K. KAHN CLERK D. C. Docket No. 99-00058-CR-WDO-5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus JAMES CHRISTOPHER TURK, a.k.a. Chris Turk, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia _________________________ (July 23, 2007) Before DUBINA, WILSON and PRYOR, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Appellant James Christopher Turk appeals the district court s imposition of 24 months incarceration upon revocation of his supervised release. Turk argues that the above-guideline range sentence is unreasonable. A district court s decision to exceed the advisory sentencing range in Chapter 7 of the Sentencing Guidelines, U.S.S.G. § 7B1.4, is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Silva, 443 F.3d 795, 798 (11th Cir. 2006) (affirming imposition of 24 months incarceration where the guidelines advised 3 to 9 months) (revoking sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)). We review the sentence imposed upon the revocation of supervised release for reasonableness. United States v. Sweeting, 437 F.3d 1105, 1106-07 (11th Cir. 2006). Section 3583 of Title 18 provides that a district court may revoke a term of supervised release and impose a sentence of imprisonment for the violation after considering factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1), (a)(2)(B)-(D), and (a)(4)(7). 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e). The term imposed cannot exceed the statutory maximum. See Sweeting, 437 F.3d at 1107. However, revocation of supervised release is mandatory if, among other things, the defendant possesses a controlled substance in violation of the conditions of supervised release. 18 U.S.C. § 3583(g)(1). Additionally, consideration of rehabilitative needs or the other § 3553(a) factors is neither required nor prohibited when revocation of supervised release is mandatory under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(g). United States v. Brown, 224 F.3d 2 1237, 1241-42 (11th Cir. 2000) (affirming imposition of 24 months incarceration where guidelines advised 11 months). For a Class A felony, the district court may not sentence a defendant for more than five years in prison. 18 U.S.C. § 3583(b)(1). Chapter 7 of the Sentencing Guidelines addresses violations of supervised release and recommends a sentencing range of 3 to 9 months for a Grade C violation with a criminal history category of I. U.S.S.G. § 7B1.4. We have consistently held that the policy statements of Chapter 7 are merely advisory and not binding. United States v. Aguillard, 217 F.3d 1319, 1320 (11th Cir. 2000) (affirming imposition of 24 months incarceration where the guidelines advised 3 to 9 months). Considering Turk s history and his violations of the conditions of his supervised release, we conclude from the record that the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing a sentence that exceeded the recommended guidelinerange, and that the ultimate sentence was reasonable. Accordingly, we affirm Turk s sentence. AFFIRMED. 3
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