United States v. Dennis Ray Graven
Opinion
Dennis Ray Graven pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and the district court 1 sentenced him to 120 months imprisonment (the statutory minimum) and 4 years supervised release. On appeal, his counsel has filed a brief and moved to withdraw pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), and Graven has not filed a pro se supplemental brief.
Counsel challenges, on due process and separation-of-powers grounds, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e)’s requirement of a government motion before the district court may impose a sentence below the statutory minimum. This challenge is foreclosed by our precedent. See United States v. Kelley, 956 F.2d 748, 752 (8th Cir. 1992) (en banc) (upholding, against separation-of-powers and due process challenges, U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1 requirement of government motion before district court may depart from Guidelines); see also United States v. Marks, 244 F.3d 971, 973 n. 1 (8th Cir. 2001) (equating § 5K1.1 and § 3553(e)); Kelley, 956 F.2d at 751 n. 3 (same).
Having reviewed the record independently pursuant to Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), we have found no nonfrivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court, and we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw.
. The Honorable Robert W. Pratt, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Dennis Ray GRAVEN, Appellant
- Status
- Unpublished