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[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 17-10442
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 0:16-cr-60216-WPD-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
ROBERT WATSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
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(September 27, 2017)
Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, JULIE CARNES, and JILL PRYOR, Circuit
Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Robert Watson appeals from his conviction for bank robbery in violation of
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18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). He contends that the district court erred by classifying him as
a career offender under United States Sentencing Guidelines § 4B1.1, focusing
excessively on the sentencing guidelines during sentencing, and imposing a
sentence that is procedurally and substantively unreasonable. We disagree.
Watson first contends that he is not a career offender under the sentencing
guidelines. To qualify as a career offender under § 4B1.1, a defendant must (1) be
at least eighteen years old, (2) be convicted of a crime of violence or controlled
substance offense, and (3) have at least two prior convictions for either a crime of
violence or a controlled substance offense. In addition to his underlying conviction
for bank robbery, Watson has two earlier federal bank robbery convictions. And a
prior panel of this court has already held that bank robbery, as defined in 18 U.S.C.
§ 2113(a), is categorically a crime of violence under § 4B1.2. In Re Sams, 830
F.3d 1234, 1240–41 (11th Cir. 2016). 1
While Watson argues that In Re Sams was wrongly decided, its holding can
be overturned only by the Supreme Court or this Court sitting en banc.2 United
1
At the time the In re Sams decision was issued, robbery was explicitly listed as a crime
of violence in the commentary to § 4B1.2. U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2 cmt. 1 (2015). Since that time,
however, § 4B1.2 has been amended so that robbery is explicitly listed as a crime of violence in
the text of the guideline. U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(2) (2016). That change does not affect our
analysis of this issue.
2
Watson also argues that In re Sams is of “questionable” precedential value because we
“disregarded” it in a later, unpublished three judge order. But of course, unpublished orders have
no precedential weight. 11th Cir. R. 36-2. And even if they did, it is In re Sams’ rule that would
govern, because it was decided first. United States v. Madden, 733 F.3d 1314, 1319 (11th Cir.
2013) (“When we have conflicting case law, we follow our oldest precedent.”).
2
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States v. Archer, 531 F.3d 1347, 1352 (11th Cir. 2008). And that is true regardless
of whether we think it was poorly reasoned or incorrectly decided. United States
v. Fritts, 841 F.3d 937, 942 (11th Cir. 2016) (“Under this Court’s prior panel
precedent rule, there is never an exception carved out for overlooked or
misinterpreted Supreme Court precedent.”); Perez-Guerrero v. U.S. Att’y Gen.,
717 F.3d 1224, 1231 (11th Cir. 2013) (“Under our prior precedent rule, a panel
cannot overrule a prior one’s holding even [if] convinced it is wrong.”) (quotation
marks omitted) (alteration in original).
Watson next contends that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Beckles v.
United States, 580 U.S. ___, 137 S. Ct. 886 (2017), radically changed the nature of
sentencing under the guidelines. He argues that, because Beckles says that the
guidelines “merely guide” the district court’s discretion and that district courts rely
on them “merely for advice in exercising” their discretion, id. at 892, 894–95, the
guidelines are no longer the “lodestone of sentencing,” Peugh v. United States, 569
U.S. ___, 133 S. Ct. 2072, 2084 (2013). As a result, Watson claims, Beckles has
abrogated (or at least severely limited the reach of) most (if not all) of the post-
Booker decisions from the Supreme Court, this Court, and our sister circuits
treating the guidelines as the central feature of the federal sentencing process. No
longer, says Watson, should district courts be forced to, among other things, justify
variances from the guidelines. Instead, they must treat the guidelines only as one
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of several equally important factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
Beckles does not command, imply, suggest, or even hint at such a sea
change in federal sentencing jurisprudence. In reality, Watson’s argument is that
the Beckles decision is inconsistent with several of the Supreme Court’s earlier
decisions. Even if we indulge the assumption that he may be correct on that point,
it would be the Supreme Court’s prerogative to resolve any inconsistency, not ours.
We are bound to enforce the Supreme Court’s earlier decisions and our own unless
and until they are explicitly overruled. State Oil Co. v. Kahn, 522 U.S. 3, 20, 118
S. Ct. 275, 284 (1997) (“[I]t is this Court’s perogative alone to overrule one of its
precedents.”); Evans v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 699 F.3d 1249, 1263 (11th Cir.
2012) (“The [Supreme] Court has told us, over and over again, to follow any of its
decisions that directly applies in a case, even if the reasoning of that decision
appears to have been rejected in later decisions and leave to that Court the
prerogative of overruling its own decisions.”) (quotation marks omitted); Archer,
531 F.3d at 1352.
Finally, Watson appears to contend that his sentence is procedurally and
substantively unreasonable. Because he did not raise this contention in the district
court, we review it only for plain error. United States v. Vandergrift, 754 F.3d
1303, 1307 (11th Cir. 2014). As a result, we can reverse the district court only if
(1) an error occurred that: (2) was plain, (3) affected Watson’s substantial rights,
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and (4) “seriously affect[ed] the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of [the]
judicial proceedings.” United States v. DiFalco, 837 F.3d 1207, 1220–21 (11th
Cir. 2016).
“A sentence is procedurally unreasonable if the district court erred by failing
to calculate (or improperly calculating) the Guidelines range, treating the
Guidelines as mandatory, failing to consider the § 3553(a) factors, selecting a
sentence based on clearly erroneous facts, or failing to adequately explain the
chosen sentence — including an explanation for any deviation from the Guidelines
range.” United States v. Rodriguez, 628 F.3d 1258, 1264 (11th Cir. 2010)
(quotation marks omitted). “In general, the district court is not required to state on
the record that it has explicitly considered each of the § 3553(a) factors or to
discuss each of the § 3553(a) factors. . . . It is sufficient that the district court
considers the defendant’s arguments at sentencing and states that it has taken the
§ 3553(a) factors into account.” United States v. Sanchez, 586 F.3d 918, 936 (11th
Cir. 2009) (quotation marks and citation omitted).
Here the district court did both. It stated on the record that it had considered
the § 3553(a) factors, and its discussion makes clear that it considered the factors
as well as Watson’s arguments. The court considered that Watson had not used or
threatened to use a gun in this robbery. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1) (directing the court
to consider “the nature and circumstances of the offense”); id. § 3553(A)(2)(A)
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(directing the court to consider “the need for the sentence imposed . . . to reflect the
seriousness of the offense”). It noted that Watson had violated supervised release
in the past, had a history of robbing banks after being released from prison, and
had a drug and alcohol problem. Id. § 3553(a)(1) (directing the court to consider
“the history and characteristics of the defendant”). The district court explicitly
invoked the need to “promote respect for the law” and “afford adequate deterrence
to criminal conduct,” id. § 3553(a)(2)(A), (B), when it reasoned that Watson
should not receive a lower sentence for this robbery than he received in 2002 for an
earlier robbery. It gave Watson credit for “being an intelligent individual” who
was “capab[le] of being a productive member of society.” And it clearly
considered “the kinds of sentences available,” id. § 3553(a)(3), because it tailored
Watson’s supervised release conditions to his specific offense and characteristics.
Watson’s sentence is not procedurally unreasonable.
Nor is Watson’s sentence substantively unreasonable. “The party
challenging the sentence bears the burden to show it was substantively
unreasonable in light of the record and the [18 U.S.C.] § 3553(a) factors.” United
States v. Tome, 611 F.3d 1371, 1378 (11th Cir. 2010). “[W]e are to vacate the
sentence if, but only if, we are left with the definite and firm conviction that the
district court committed a clear error of judgment in weighing the § 3553(a) factors
by arriving at a sentence that lies outside the range of reasonable sentences dictated
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by the facts of the case.” United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 1190 (11th Cir.
2010) (en banc) (quotation marks omitted). “Although we do not automatically
presume a sentence within the guidelines range is reasonable, we ordinarily . . .
expect a sentence within the [g]uidelines range to be reasonable.” United States v.
Hunt, 526 F.3d 739, 747 (11th Cir. 2008) (quotation marks omitted) (first
alteration in original).
As we have already explained, the district court thoroughly examined the
§ 3553(a) factors in this case. The sentence of 152 months in prison was within
Watson’s guidelines range. And there is nothing in the record to support a finding
that the district court “committed a clear error in judgment” in arriving at its
sentence. See Irey, 612 F.3d at 1190. Watson argues that the district court should
not have considered whether his sentence on this bank robbery would have been
higher or lower than his 2002 bank robbery sentence because that earlier sentence
was imposed before the Supreme Court ruled that the sentencing guidelines were
merely advisory. United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S. Ct. 738 (2005).
He points to statistics showing a decline in the average sentence imposed for bank
robberies since the Booker decision and that a large number of career offenders are
sentenced outside their guidelines ranges. Watson also argues that the district
court should not have considered that he received a sentence within the guidelines
in 2002 notwithstanding psychological mitigating evidence because — before
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Booker — mental and emotional conditions only rarely justified departures from
the guidelines. But he never presented any those arguments to the district court,
and we cannot say that the district court plainly erred by failing to sua sponte
consider them.
To the extent Watson also claims that the district court should have assigned
additional weight to the mitigating factors he did present at his sentence hearing,
we do not think the district court’s balancing of the factors amounted to a clear
error in judgment. Id. Even if we might have weighed the factors differently
ourselves, that is not enough to warrant reversal. See Gall v. United States, 552
U.S. 38, 51, 128 S. Ct. 586, 597 (2007).
The district court did not err by counting Watson’s bank robbery convictions
as crimes of violence under the sentencing guidelines. And Watson’s sentence is
neither procedurally nor substantively unreasonable.
AFFIRMED.
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