Case: 08-31190 Document: 00511085568 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/20/2010
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
April 20, 2010
No. 08-31190
Conference Calendar Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
WARREN D JONES,
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
USDC No. 3:98-CR-30019-1
Before SMITH, PRADO, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Warren D. Jones, federal prisoner # 09940-035, appeals the denial of his
18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) motion to reduce his sentence based on the amendments
to the crack cocaine Guideline. Although the district court reduced Jones’s
sentence, the court denied Jones’s request to reduce his sentence below the
amended guidelines range. Jones argues that, pursuant to United States v.
Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), the district court had the discretion to depart from
the amended guidelines range. He further argues that 28 U.S.C. § 994(u) does
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR . R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR .
R. 47.5.4.
Case: 08-31190 Document: 00511085568 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/20/2010
No. 08-31190
not grant the Sentencing Commission the authority to bind the district court’s
discretion in § 3582 cases.
We review a district court’s decision whether to reduce a sentence under
§ 3582(c)(2) for an abuse of discretion, and its interpretation of the Sentencing
Guidelines is reviewed de novo. United States v. Doublin, 572 F.3d 235, 237 (5th
Cir.), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 517 (2009). Booker is inapplicable to sentence
reductions under § 3582(c)(2), and a district court cannot reduce a sentence
below the minimum provided in the amended guidelines range. Id. at 238.
Insofar as Jones challenges the reasonableness of his sentence at the bottom of
the recalculated guidelines range, his argument is without merit. See United
States v. Evans, 587 F.3d 667, 670-72 (5th Cir. 2009), petition for cert. filed (Jan.
28, 2010) (No. 09-8939). “The Booker reasonableness standard does not apply to
§ 3582(c)(2) proceedings.” Id. at 672.
AFFIRMED.
2