UNITED STATES v. BRASS (2018)

Following an earlier appeal, see United States v. Brass, 700 F. App'x 361 (5th Cir. 2017), the district court resentenced Dennis Joseph Brass on his guilty plea to a drug conspiracy and imposed the statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months of imprisonment. Brass now challenges that sentence, contending that the district court should have imposed a lower sentence. We affirm.

The Government filed a motion for a downward departure from the guidelines range pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1, but it did not move pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) for a departure below the mandatory minimum. Therefore, the district court lacked the authority to sentence Brass below the statutory mandatory minimum. See Melendez v. United States, 518 U.S. 120, 124-26, 116 S.Ct. 2057, 135 L.Ed.2d 427 (1996); United States v. Sealed Appellee, 887 F.3d 707, 709 (5th Cir. 2018). Brass’s argument to the contrary is meritless.

AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

FOOTNOTE.  

PER CURIAM: * FN* Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.