United States v. Banks
United States v. Banks
Opinion of the Court
David Banks, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to reconsider the court’s order denying his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) motion to reduce his sentence. After careful review, we affirm.
In 2000, Banks pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess crack and powder cocaine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. Based on a total offense level of 40 and a criminal history category of IV, Banks had a guidelines range of 360 months’ to life imprisonment. The district court granted the government’s motion for a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1 and sentenced Banks to 325 months.
Banks appealed his sentence, and this court affirmed.
We review the denial of a motion to reconsider for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Simms, 385 F.3d 1347, 1356 (11th Cir. 2004). Where, as here, the defendant was sentenced based on a guidelines range that was subsequently lowered by the Sentencing Commission, the district court has discretion to reduce his sentence under § 3582(c)(2). United States v. Bravo, 203 F.3d 778, 780 (11th Cir. 2000). The district court also “has the discretion to decide whether to re-apply a downward departure [under U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1]....” United States v. Vautier, 144 F.3d 756, 761 (11th Cir. 1998). To decide whether a sentence reduction is appropriate, “the court must consider the factors listed in [18 U.S.C.] § 3553(a)....” Id. at 760. The § 3553(a) factors include, inter alia, “the nature and circumstances of the offense
Banks has not shown that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion to reconsider the denial of his § 3582(c)(2) motion. Banks sold crack cocaine and firearms to undercover government agents on multiple occasions, used his 15-year-old nephew to assist in the crime, and had a criminal history that included four offenses involving firearms, the most recent of which involved shooting and injuring two men. Banks argues that the district court abused its discretion by relying on his 13-year-old criminal history, but the district court was free to consider any information relevant to Banks’s “background, character, and conduct” in evaluating the § 3553(a) factors. 18 U.S.C. § 3661; see United States v. Tome, 611 F.3d 1371, 1379 (11th Cir. 2010). And Banks’s arguments concerning the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine do not suggest the district court abused its discretion in declining to reduce his sentence in this case based on the § 3553(a) factors.
AFFIRMED.
. United States v. Banks, 247 F.3d 248 (11th Cir. 2001) (unpublished table decision).
. To the extent Banks argues that the sentencing disparity is unconstitutional, that argument is foreclosed. See United States v. Hanna, 153 F.3d 1286, 1287-89 (11th Cir. 1998).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.