United States v. Issa
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Suhail Issa (“Issa”) appeals his 24-month prison sentence imposed following the revocation of his supervised release, alleging that the district court erred by failing to state its reasons, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c)(2), for departing from the 4-10 month range provided in United States Sentencing Guideline § 7B1.4 and by considering impermissible factors in determining Issa’s sentence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e). We have jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.
Because Issa did not raise the alleged sentencing errors in district court, we review for plain error.
In the present case, it is not necessary to decide whether either alleged error satisfies the first three conditions of the plain error test because — even assuming they do — Issa cannot demonstrate that either forfeited error seriously affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings in this case and we therefore may not exercise our discretion to notice the alleged errors. See Johnson v. United States, 520 U.S. 461, 469-70, 117 S.Ct. 1544, 137 L.Ed.2d 718 (1997); United States v. Barajas-Montiel, 185 F.3d 947, 953 (9th Cir. 1999). Issa’s sentence is within the statutory maximum of 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(3), and the record, viewed in its entirety, reasonably justifies the sentence imposed.
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
. Issa’s sentencing memorandum, submitted to the district court prior to sentencing, is insufficient to preserve an objection to the factors considered in determining his ultimate sentence and does not enable him to avoid plain error review. Cf. United States v. Santiago, 466 F.3d 801, 803 (9th Cir. 2006) (requiring a specific objection to avoid plain error review).
. We recognize that § 3553(c)(2) errors may affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings insofar as they hinder this court’s ability to review a sentence for substantive reasonableness. However, no such concern is raised in this case because the record as a whole sufficiently justifies Issa’s sentence.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Suhail ISSA
- Status
- Published