UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 07-4434
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
MARLON LAMONT LILES,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Frank D. Whitney,
District Judge. (3:02-cr-00204)
Submitted: November 15, 2007 Decided: November 21, 2007
Before WILLIAMS, Chief Judge, and MOTZ and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
J. Charles Jones, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant. Amy
Elizabeth Ray, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Asheville,
North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Marlon Lamont Liles appeals his convictions and the 172-
month sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to one count of
possession with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21
U.S.C. § 841 (2000), and one count of possession of a firearm in
furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 924(c) (2000). On appeal, counsel filed an Anders1 brief, in
which he states there are no meritorious issues for appeal, but
questions whether the district court plainly erred in failing to
conclude that Liles’ criminal history category significantly
overstated the seriousness of his prior crimes and sentencing Liles
to 112 months on the drug count based on his status as a career
offender. Liles was advised of his right to file a pro se
supplemental brief, but has not filed a brief. We affirm.
We review a district court’s sentence for reasonableness.
United States v. Hughes, 401 F.3d 540, 546-47 (4th Cir. 2005).
Liles does not contest that he was properly classified as a career
offender pursuant to section 4B1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines,2
or otherwise suggest error in the district court’s determination of
his Guidelines range. Because Liles did not request a departure at
sentencing, we review his claim for plain error. United States v.
Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732 (1993); Hughes, 401 F.3d at 547. Under
1
Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).
2
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual (2001).
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the plain error standard, Liles must show: (1) there was error;
(2) the error was plain; and (3) the error affected his substantial
rights. Olano, 507 U.S. at 732-34. Even when these conditions are
satisfied, this court may exercise its discretion to notice the
error only if the error “seriously affect[s] the fairness,
integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.” Id. at
736 (internal quotation marks omitted).
Although a district court may depart on the basis that
career offender status overstates a defendant’s prior criminal
history, “such departure, like all departures, are reserved for the
truly unusual case.” United States v. Adkins, 937 F.2d 947, 952
(4th Cir. 1991). Our review of the record leads us to conclude
that Liles’ case is not truly unusual and the district court did
not err in failing to sua sponte depart from the Guidelines range.
We further conclude that Liles’ sentence, which is within the
statutory maximum and the Guidelines range, is reasonable. United
States v. Johnson, 445 F.3d 339, 341 (4th Cir. 2006); see Rita v.
United States, __ U.S. __, 127 S. Ct. 2456 (2007) (upholding
presumption of reasonableness).
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the record in
this case and have found no meritorious issues for appeal. We
therefore affirm Liles’ convictions and sentence. This court
requires that counsel inform Liles, in writing, of the right to
petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further review.
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If Liles requests that a petition be filed, but counsel believes
that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in
this court for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel’s
motion must state that a copy thereof was served on Liles.
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
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