F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
DEC 15 1997
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
No. 97-7089
v. (E. District of Oklahoma)
(D.C. No. CR-91-12-S)
MANUEL DIAZ SANCHEZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before SEYMOUR, Chief Judge, PORFILIO and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this three-judge panel
has determined unanimously that oral argument would not be of material
assistance in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a);
10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The cause is therefore ordered submitted without oral
argument.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
Manuel D. Sanchez, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s denial of
his “Motion to Modify Sentence” brought pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2).
According to Sanchez, the district court erred in denying the Motion to Modify
without first holding a hearing. This court exercises jurisdiction pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1291 and affirms.
Sanchez was indicted in a multi-count, multi-defendant controlled
substance distribution conspiracy on March 15, 1991. On May 29, 1991, Sanchez
pleaded guilty to count eight of the indictment, which alleged a violation of
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. In
determining Sanchez’s base offense level for purposes of sentencing, the district
court considered, over Sanchez’s objection, a large quantity of cocaine as relevant
conduct. This court affirmed Sanchez’s sentence on direct appeal. United States
v. Sanchez, No. 91-7100, 1992 WL 74128 (10th Cir. April 6, 1992). Sanchez
thereafter filed a petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 challenging his sentence.
The district court denied the petition and this court affirmed. United States v.
Sanchez, No. 96-7039, 1997 WL 8842 (10th Cir. January 10, 1997).
Soon thereafter, Sanchez initiated this action, his third attempt to have his
sentence modified, by filing a Motion to Modify with the district court pursuant to
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18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). 1 Although Sanchez’s arguments are nearly
incomprehensible, he appeared to argue that Amendments 484 and 516 to the
United States Sentencing Guidelines, effective November 1, 1995, changed the
manner in which his base offense level should be calculated and, therefore,
entitled him to a sentencing reduction pursuant to §3582(c)(2). The district court
denied the Motion by minute order on July 15, 1997. It is from this minute order
that Sanchez appeals.
Sanchez argues on appeal that the district court erred when it denied his
Motion to Modify without first holding a hearing. Because Sanchez’s arguments
regarding the Amendments are both frivolous and meritless, the district court did
not err in denying Sanchez’s Motion without first holding a hearing.
Amendment 484 resolved an inter-circuit conflict by amending the
commentary to guideline § 2D1.1. 2 The newly amended commentary makes clear
that in establishing the weight of a controlled substance, the courts should not
1
Section 3582(c)(2) provides as follows:
[I]n the case of a defendant who has been sentenced to a term
of imprisonment based on a sentencing range that has subsequently
been lowered by the Sentencing Commission pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
994(o), upon motion of the defendant . . . the court may reduce the
term of imprisonment, after considering the factors set forth in
section 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable, if such a
reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by
the Sentencing Commission.
2
U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 establishes the base offense level for controlled
substance crimes.
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include “materials that must be separated from the controlled substance before the
controlled substance can be used.” U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 commentary. In an absurd
reading of Amendment 484, Sanchez apparently argues that the Amendment
prevents the combining of different types of drugs (i.e., marijuana and cocaine) in
determining a defendant’s base offense level. Thus, according to Sanchez’s
reading of the Amendment, the district court was obligated to consider either the
marijuana or the cocaine but not both in determining his base offense level.
In contrast to Sanchez’s reading of Amendments 484, the purpose of the
Amendment is clear: the base offense level for drug crimes should be based on
the actual weight of the illegal drugs, excluding unusable byproducts and
packaging materials from the calculations. Amendment 484 does not eliminate
consideration, under the relevant conduct provisions, of controlled substances
other than those found in the count of conviction. Because Sanchez’s argument
based on Amendment 484 is completely without merit, the district court did not
err in denying the Motion to Modify on this ground without first holding a
hearing.
Sanchez’s arguments with regard to Amendment 516 are similarly flawed.
Amendment 516 altered the equivalency used to convert marijuana plants to
usable marijuana for purposes of calculating a defendant’s base offense level.
Prior to the Amendment, § 2D1.1 provided that “In the case of an offense
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involving marijuana plants, if the offense involved (A) 50 or more marihuana
plants, treat each plaint as equivalent to 1 KG of marihuana; (B) fewer than 50
marihuana plants, treat each plant as equivalent to 100 G of marihuana.” After
the Amendment, § 2D1.1 simply provided that, without regard to the number of
plants at issue, each plant should be considered as equivalent to 100 G of
marijuana.
Sanchez asserts, without explanation, that he is entitled to a reduction in his
base offense level based on Amendment 516. The record makes clear, however,
that Sanchez pleaded guilty to involvement in a plot to distribute 1200 pounds of
marijuana. His case did not involve plants and, therefore, did not call into
question the issue of conversion between plants and usable marijuana.
Accordingly, Amendment 516 is completely inapplicable to his case. 3
3
It must be further noted that the 5 KG of cocaine attributed to Sanchez as
relevant conduct, an attribution upheld by this court on direct appeal and on
collateral proceedings, is alone sufficient to support a base offense level of 32.
U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(4).
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Because Sanchez’s Motion to Modify is both frivolous and meritless, the
district court did not err in denying the Motion without a hearing. Accordingly,
the Order of the district court denying the Motion to Modify is hereby
AFFIRMED.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT,
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
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