UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 10-4664
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff ─ Appellee,
v.
DAVID JACKSON,
Defendant ─ Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern
District of West Virginia, at Beckley. Irene C. Berger,
District Judge. (5:09-cr-00014-ICB-1)
Submitted: June 16, 2011 Decided: June 20, 2011
Before NIEMEYER and GREGORY, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON,
Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Tracy Weese, Sheperdstown, West Virginia, for Appellant. Louise
Anna Forbes, Assistant United States Attorney, Charleston, West
Virginia; Miller A. Bushong, III, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
ATTORNEY, Beckley, West Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Pursuant to a written plea agreement, David Jackson
pled guilty to distribution of cocaine base. The district court
sentenced him to 151 months of imprisonment. Jackson’s counsel
filed a brief in accordance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S.
738 (1967), stating that, in counsel’s view, there are no
meritorious issues for appeal, but questioning whether Jackson’s
sentence was reasonable in light of his request for a variance
or a downward departure. Jackson was advised of his right to
file a pro se supplemental brief, but has not done so. We
affirm.
In fulfilling our duty under Anders, we have reviewed
the guilty plea for any error, and find none. The district
court fully complied with Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 in accepting
Jackson’s guilty plea. The court ensured that Jackson
understood the charge against him and the potential sentence he
faced, that he entered his plea knowingly and voluntarily, and
that the plea was supported by an independent factual basis.
See United States v. DeFusco, 949 F.2d 114, 116, 119-20 (4th
Cir. 1991). Accordingly, we affirm Jackson’s conviction.
We have reviewed Jackson’s sentence and determined
that it was properly calculated and that the sentence imposed is
reasonable. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007);
United States v. Llamas, 599 F.3d 381, 387 (4th Cir. 2010). The
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district court followed the necessary procedural steps in
sentencing Jackson, appropriately treated the Sentencing
Guidelines as advisory, properly calculated and considered the
applicable Guidelines range, and weighed the relevant 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a) (2006) factors in light of Jackson's individual
characteristics and circumstances. The district court
adequately explained its reasons for denying a variance, noting
that Jackson had at least seven prior felony convictions and had
sold drugs over the course of twenty years. We conclude that
the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing the
chosen sentence. See Gall, 552 U.S. at 41; United States v.
Allen, 491 F.3d 178, 193 (4th Cir. 2007) (applying appellate
presumption of reasonableness to within Guidelines sentence).
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire
record in this case and have found no meritorious issues for
appeal. This court requires that counsel inform Jackson, in
writing, of the right to petition the Supreme Court of the
United States for further review. If Jackson 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 Jackson. We dispense
with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
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adequately presented in the materials before the court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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