[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________ FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
No. 09-16193 ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
AUGUST 26, 2010
Non-Argument Calendar
JOHN LEY
________________________
CLERK
D. C. Docket No. 09-00290-CR-01-ODE-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
EARL WALLACE HARRIS,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
_________________________
(August 26, 2010)
Before BLACK, WILSON and PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Earl Wallace Harris appeals his 41-month sentence imposed after he pled
guilty to unlawfully re-entering the country as a deported alien, in violation of 8
U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and (b)(2). The pre-sentence report gave Harris a criminal
history category of V with a guideline range of 46–57 months imprisonment. The
district court decreased the criminal history category to IV, with a guideline range
of 37–46 months, because many of Harris’s prior criminal offenses were traffic
related. Harris argues that his sentence was substantively unreasonable, in light of
the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors because: (1) the sentence does not accurately
reflect the seriousness of the offense; (2) the sentence is excessive and thus does
not promote respect for the law; and (3) the case received no media attention and
so § 3553(a)(2)(B)’s deterrence requirement should be ignored.
We review the substantive reasonableness of a sentence under an abuse of
discretion standard. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51, 128 S. Ct. 586, 597
(2007). The challenger “bears the burden of establishing that the sentence is
unreasonable in the light of both [the] record and the factors in section 3553(a).”
United States v. Talley, 431 F.3d 784, 788 (11th Cir. 2005) (per curiam). Where
the district court imposes a within-guidelines sentence, it need only “set forth
enough to satisfy the appellate court that [it] has considered the parties’ arguments
and has a reasoned basis for exercising [its] own legal decisionmaking authority.”
Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 356, 127 S. Ct. 2456, 2468 (2007). “The
review for substantive unreasonableness involves examining the totality of the
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circumstances, including an inquiry into whether the statutory factors in § 3553(a)
support the sentence in question.” United States v. Gonzalez, 550 F.3d 1319, 1324
(11th Cir. 2008) (per curiam) (citation omitted), cert. denied, 129 S. Ct. 2848
(2009).1
At the sentencing hearing, the district court stated that it had considered all
of the factors of § 3553(a) and the arguments presented when determining the
reasonableness of the sentence to be imposed. In making that determination, the
court reduced Harris’s criminal history category to more accurately represent the
seriousness of his criminal behavior, and balanced that against his lengthy criminal
history, illegal re-entries, and continuous disregard for the laws of the United
States. In doing so, the court appropriately weighed the factors set forth in
§ 3553(a) and achieved the purposes of sentencing set forth in § 3553(a). Under
the totality of the circumstances, Harris’s sentence was substantively reasonable.
AFFIRMED.
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The § 3553(a) factors a court must consider in determining a sentence include: (1) “the
nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant;” (2)
the need for the sentence (A) “to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the
law, and to provide just punishment for the offense,” (B) “to afford adequate deterrence to
criminal conduct,” (C) “to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant,” and (D) “to
provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational training [or] medical care;” (3) “the
kinds of sentences available;” (4) the Sentencing Guidelines range; (5) pertinent policy
statements of the Sentencing Commission; (6) “the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing
disparities;” (7) and the need to provide restitution to victims. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1)–(7).
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