Steve Wright, Jr. v. United States
Opinion
*870
In 2006, a jury convicted Steve L. Wright, Jr., of fourteen federal offenses. A number of the crimes took place when Wright was a juvenile; others occurred after he reached age eighteen. Count 1, the offense of conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base and other controlled substances, encompassed conduct undertaken both before and after Wright's eighteenth birthday. In February 2007, the district court
1
sentenced Wright to life in prison plus 110 years. This appeal requires us to apply recent Supreme Court cases addressing the constitutionality of life sentences for juveniles --
Graham v. Florida
,
At sentencing, the district court imposed the statutory mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment for Count 7, the offense of aiding and abetting the murder of a witness.
See
We affirmed Wright's sentence on direct appeal.
United States v. Wright
,
In
Graham
, the Supreme Court held that a juvenile who has not committed homicide may not be sentenced to life without parole; he must instead have "some meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation."
In the district court, the government conceded that Wright's mandatory life sentence for Count 7 violated the Eighth Amendment as construed in
Miller
because the underlying murder occurred
*871
when Wright was a juvenile. The district court
3
vacated the life sentence, imposed a sentence of fifteen years on Count 7, and denied all other relief. Wright appeals, arguing (i) he should be resentenced on Counts 1, 4, 6, and 9 because some or all of the criminal activity giving rise to those convictions occurred before his eighteenth birthday; and (ii) the district court erred in denying a comprehensive resentencing hearing because his entire sentence was tainted by Eighth Amendment violations. Reviewing the constitutionality of his sentencing
de novo
, we affirm.
United States v. Jefferson
,
I.
A.
Wright first argues he is entitled to resentencing on Count 1 under
Graham
and
Miller
because many conspirator acts in furtherance of the conspiracy occurred before his eighteenth birthday. Even if the conspiracy continued past his eighteenth birthday and permitted him to be tried as an adult, Wright argues, "a sentencing court should be permitted to consider whether a life sentence is appropriate for his role in the conspiracy based upon the recent Supreme Court jurisprudence recognizing that juveniles should be treated differently." But
Miller
and Graham held only "that the Eighth Amendment forbids a sentencing scheme that
mandates
life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders."
Miller
,
This contention is simply wrong. Wright was sentenced in 2007, when the Sentencing Guidelines were advisory. The district court did not vary downward from the advisory guidelines range of life plus 110 years in prison, but it was authorized to do so.
4
Montgomery
held that the decision in
Miller
is retroactive because mandatory life without parole is a substantive rule, unlike a non-retroactive procedural rule that "regulates only the manner of determining the defendant's culpability."
B.
Wright further argues that the consecutive mandatory term-of-years sentences imposed on Counts 4, 6, and 9 (totaling sixty years) violated the Eighth Amendment as construed in
Graham
because they were an "effective life sentence," and Wright was a juvenile when he committed the underlying non-homicide crimes. As Judge Colloton noted, concurring in the grant of authorization to file the successive § 2255 motion, "[i]t is an open question whether
Graham
should be extended to prohibit the imposition of a lengthy term of years on a juvenile who did not commit homicide."
Wright
, No. 13-1638, Judgment at 4, citing
Graham
,
II.
Wright argues that, because the Eighth Amendment required resentencing on Count 7, and because he alleged Eighth Amendment errors in the sentences imposed on Counts 1, 4, 6, and 9, the district court erred in not granting him a "comprehensive resentencing hearing." After we authorized this successive § 2255 motion, the district court entered an order vacating the sentence on Count 7. The court noted Eighth Circuit decisions recognizing a district court's authority to re-evaluate a "sentence package" when one or more counts must be resentenced and stated that the scope of Wright's resentencing would be determined at a resentencing hearing. The parties then briefed whether Wright was entitled to resentencing on any other counts. After considering these submissions, the district court ruled that Wright was only entitled to resentencing on Count 7 and denied further relief without a hearing.
Wright cites no authority in support of this claim. In so-called "sentencing package cases," where the defendant successfully challenges one count of a multi-count conviction, "trial courts have imposed a sentence on the remaining counts
*873
longer than the sentence originally imposed on those particular counts, but yielding an aggregate sentence no longer than the aggregate sentence initially imposed."
Greenlaw v. United States
,
Following submission of this appeal, Wright filed a pro se motion for leave to file a supplemental brief addressing three issues. One was addressed in the brief filed by his counsel on appeal; the other two present new arguments that would not provide a basis for successive habeas relief. Accordingly, we deny the pro se motion and affirm the judgment of the district court.
The Honorable Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr., United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.
As Congress abolished parole for federal offenders in 1984, a federal life sentence is a sentence of life without parole.
Graham
,
The Honorable Howard F. Sachs, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.
By contrast, in
United States v. Jefferson
,
Wright was tried and punished as an adult because he participated in the conspiracy after reaching the age of majority.
See, e.g.
,
United States v. Gjonaj
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Steve L. WRIGHT, Jr., Petitioner-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Respondent-Appellee.
- Cited By
- 16 cases
- Status
- Published