Case: 11-60272 Document: 00511823930 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/17/2012
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
April 17, 2012
No. 11-60272
Conference Calendar Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
DESMOND BURNETT,
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Mississippi
USDC No. 2:10-CR-22-1
Before JONES, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and SMITH, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Desmond Burnett pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine and
possessing with intent to distribute in excess of 5 grams of cocaine base. In his
sole issue on appeal, he contends that the district court erred by refusing to
apply the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (FSA) to his sentence. His argument is
foreclosed by our decision in United States v. Tickles, 661 F.3d 212, 215 (5th Cir.
2011), petitions for cert. filed (Dec. 15, 2011) (No. 11-8023) and (Dec. 27, 2011)
(No. 11-8268), which held that the FSA does not apply retroactively to
*
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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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: 11-60272 Document: 00511823930 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/17/2012
No. 11-60272
defendants whose sentencing occurred after the FSA’s effective date but whose
offenses occurred before the effective date. Although the Supreme Court has
recently granted certiorari in two Seventh Circuit cases that held that the FSA
does not apply retroactively, our precedent is nevertheless binding. See United
States v. Lopez-Velasquez, 526 F.3d 804, 808 n.1 (5th Cir. 2008).
Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
2