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UNITED STATES v. WIMMER (2021)

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United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. Melvin Leonard WIMMER, Jr., a/k/a Melvin Lee Wimmer, Jr., Defendant - Appellant.

No. 20-7640

Decided: April 28, 2021

Before NIEMEYER, HARRIS, and RUSHING, Circuit Judges. Melvin Leonard Wimmer, Jr., Appellant Pro Se.

Melvin Leonard Wimmer, Jr., appeals the district court's order denying Wimmer's motion for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), as amended by the First Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-391, § 603(b)(1), 132 Stat. 5194, 5239. The district court denied Wimmer's motion after determining that Wimmer failed to establish extraordinary and compelling reasons to support a sentence modification and, in any event, that the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors counseled against a sentence reduction. In his pro se informal brief, Wimmer assigns error to the district court's determination that Wimmer failed to establish extraordinary and compelling reasons for a sentence modification.

On appeal, we confine our review to the issues raised in the informal brief. See 4th Cir. R. 34(b). Because Wimmer's informal brief does not challenge the district court's determination that Wimmer was not eligible for a sentence modification under the § 3553(a) factors, even if extraordinary and compelling reasons supported a sentence modification, Wimmer has forfeited appellate review of the court's dispositive holding. See Jackson v. Lightsey, 775 F.3d 170, 177 (4th Cir. 2014) (“The informal brief is an important document; under Fourth Circuit rules, our review is limited to issues preserved in that brief.”). Accordingly, we affirm the district court's judgment. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

PER CURIAM:

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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