United States v. Robinson
Opinion
Russell Richard Robinson, Jr., pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (2000). The district court sentenced him as a career offender to a 186-month term of imprisonment. Robinson appeals his sentence, asserting that it violates the Sixth Amendment. We affirm.
Citing United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), Robinson asserts that his career offender sentence pursuant to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4B1.1 (2003), violates his Sixth Amendment rights because the prior convictions were not admitted by him or submitted to a jury. Because Robinson did not raise this issue in the district court, our review is for plain error. See United States v. Hughes, 401 F.3d 540, 547-48 (4th Cir. 2005). Robinson’s argument is foreclosed by our decision in United States v. Collins, 412 F.3d 515, 521-23 (4th Cir. 2005) (holding that application of career offender enhancement falls within exception for prior convictions where facts were undisputed, making it unnecessary to engage in further fact finding about prior conviction). Thus, there is no Sixth Amendment error in this case. *
*525 Accordingly, we affirm Robinson’s sentence. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
The Government argues that Robinson’s plea agreement bars him from appealing this issue. In the agreement, Robinson waived the right to have facts that determined his offense level presented to a grand jury, alleged in an indictment, and found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, agreed that such facts would be found by the court using a preponderance of the evidence standard, and waived all constitutional challenges to the validity of *525 the Sentencing Guidelines. Because we find no Sixth Amendment error, we need not reach the issue of waiver.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Russell Richard ROBINSON, Jr., Defendant-Appellant
- Status
- Unpublished