[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FILED
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
________________________ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
FEB 27, 2009
No. 08-12666 THOMAS K. KAHN
Non-Argument Calendar CLERK
________________________
D. C. Docket No. 94-06003-CR-DTKH
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
RONALD FORD,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
_________________________
(February 27, 2009)
Before DUBINA, BLACK and BARKETT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Appellant Ronald Ford, a federal prisoner convicted of a crack cocaine
offense, through counsel, appeals the district court’s grant of his pro se motion for
a reduced sentence, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). Ford’s motion was based
on Amendment 706 to the Sentencing Guidelines, which lowered the base offense
levels associated with crack cocaine offenses. Ford’s motion also included an
argument that the district court could impose a sentence below the amended
guideline range after United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S. Ct. 738, 160 L.
Ed. 2d 621 (2005). The district court granted the motion in part, recalculated the
guideline range, and imposed a sentence at the low end of the amended guideline
range. On appeal, Ford argues that both Booker and Kimbrough v. United States,
552 U.S. __, 128 S. Ct. 558, 169 L. Ed. 2d 481 (2007), apply to § 3582(c)(2)
proceedings, and that the district court should further reduce his sentence after
considering his post-conviction efforts, strong family ties, and the crack/powder
disparity.
In the 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) context, “we review de novo the district
court’s legal conclusions regarding the scope of its authority under the Sentencing
Guidelines.” United States v. White, 305 F.3d 1264, 1267 (11th Cir. 2002).
Under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2):
in 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 or the Director of the Bureau of Prisons,
2
or on its own motion, 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.
18 U.S.C. § 3583(c)(2) (emphasis added).
The policy statement applicable to § 3582(c)(2) proceedings is U.S.S.G. §
1B1.10, which instructs courts how to determine the amended guideline range.
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)(1) (2008). The policy statement provides in relevant part
that “the court shall not reduce the defendant’s term of imprisonment under 18
U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) and this policy statement to a term that is less than the
minimum of the amended guideline range determined under [§ 1B1.10(b)(1)].”
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)(2)(A).
In United States v. Melvin, ___ F.3d ___, No. 08-13497 (11th Cir. February
3, 2009), we held that § 3582(c)(2) only allows a district court to reduce sentences
in a manner “consistent with the applicable policy statements of the Sentencing
Commission.” Id. at ___. We noted that the policy statement applicable to
3582(c)(2) proceedings prohibited the district court from reducing a term of
imprisonment below the end of the amended guideline range. Id. at ___; see also
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)(2)(A). We further held that the district court could not rely
on Booker or Kimbrough to reduce the defendant’s sentence below the low end of
the amended guideline range. Melvin, ___, F.3d at ___.
3
In the § 3582(c)(2) proceeding, the district court was not permitted to reduce
Ford’s sentence below his amended guideline range. Accordingly, we conclude
that the district court did not err, and we affirm Ford’s sentence.
AFFIRMED.
4