US v. Bobby Byrd, Jr., No. 13-4585 (4th Cir. 2014)
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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 13-4585 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. BOBBY CLARENCE BYRD, JR., Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Frank D. Whitney, Chief District Judge. (3:11-cr-00364-FDW-1) Submitted: May 22, 2014 Before TRAXLER, Circuit Judges. Chief Decided: May 28, 2014 Judge, and HAMILTON and DAVIS, Senior Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Henderson Hill, Executive Director, Joshua B. Carpenter, FEDERAL DEFENDERS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA, INC., Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellant. Anne M. Tompkins, United States Attorney, Amy E. Ray, Assistant United States Attorney, Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Bobby Clarence Byrd, Jr., pleaded guilty to knowingly transporting child pornography, and aiding and abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252A(a)(1), 2 (2012); and possessing child pornography, (2012), and imprisonment. in received On violation a of total appeal, Byrd 18 U.S.C. sentence raises § 2252(a)(4)(B) two of 204 claims: months that the district court erred in failing to address two of his arguments in favor of a more lenient sentence, and that the sentence is substantively unreasonable. Finding no merit in either contention, 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. The Supreme Court has held that a sentencing judge must provide sufficient explanation to demonstrate that it has considered the parties arguments and has a reasoned basis for exercising [its] own legal decisionmaking authority. Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 356 (2007). Failing to do so renders a sentence procedurally unreasonable. United States v. Carter, 564 F.3d 325, 330 (4th Cir. 2009). Byrd asserts that the district court procedurally erred by failing to address all of his nonfrivolous reasons for imposing a lower sentence. Our review discloses no such error. The court stated that it had considered each of the arguments 2 set forth in Byrd s sentencing memorandum. The court addressed the offense characteristics which, according to Byrd, overstated the seriousness of his offense, concluding that two of the enhancements were antiquated and should be stricken and that the remaining enhancements should apply. downward variance to determined that Explicitly referencing § 3553(a) and a a range sentence noting of of the The court thus granted a 188 235 months, months 204 to was appropriate. sentencing the extremely factors serious of 18 and U.S.C. nature of the offense, the court also provided a detailed rationale for its sentence. Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not commit the procedural sentencing error asserted by Byrd. Byrd also United States to rebut sentence below-Guidelines fails is substantively v. Susi, 674 F.3d the 278, presumption that reasonable. 289 (4th his See Cir. 2012) (explaining that this court applies a presumption on appeal that a sentence range is Pineda, within or below substantively 445 F.3d 375, a properly reasonable); 379 (4th calculated United Cir. States 2006) Guidelines v. Montes- (explaining that defendant may rebut presumption by showing that the sentence is unreasonable when measured against the § 3553(a) factors (internal quotation marks omitted)). We therefore affirm the district court s judgment. We dispense with oral argument because 3 the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 4
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