USA v. Chad Williamson

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 23-11395
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
CHAD WILLIAMSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Georgia
D.C. Docket No. 1:21-cr-00041-LAG-TQL-1
____________________
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2 Opinion of the Court 23-11395
Before L AGOA , BRASHER , and ABUDU, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Chad Williamson appeals his sentence of 240 months’ im-
prisonment, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, for
one count of attempt to possess methamphetamine with intent to
distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A)(viii) and
846, which was below the sentencing guidelines range. On appeal,
Williamson argues that the district court abused its discretion in
weighing the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, as it failed to properly ac-
count for his relatively brief prior terms of imprisonment, the need
to avoid an unwarranted sentencing disparity, and the Sentencing
Guidelines’ ten-to-one treatment disparity between methampheta-
mine (actual) and methamphetamine mixtures, resulting in a sub-
stantively unreasonable sentence. For the following reasons, we
affirm.
I.
When reviewing for substantive reasonableness, we con-
sider the totality of the circumstances under a deferential abuse-of-
discretion standard. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). The
party challenging the sentence bears the burden of establishing that
it is unreasonable based on the facts of the case and the § 3553(a)
factors. United States v. Tome, 611 F.3d 1371, 1378 (11th Cir. 2010).
The district court abuses its discretion when it “(1) fails to
afford consideration to relevant factors that were due significant
weight, (2) gives significant weight to an improper or irrelevant
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23-11395 Opinion of the Court 3
factor, or (3) commits a clear error of judgment in considering the
proper factors.” United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 1189 (11th Cir.
2010) (en banc) (quoting United States v. Campa, 459 F.3d 1121, 1174
(11th Cir. 2006) (en banc)). The proper factors are set out
in § 3553(a) and include the nature and circumstances of the of-
fense, the personal history and characteristics of the defendant, the
seriousness of the crime, the promotion of respect for the law, just
punishment, adequate deterrence, and the need to avoid unwar-
ranted sentencing disparities among similarly situated defendants.
§ 3553(a).
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. United States v. Kuhlman, 711 F.3d
1321, 1326 (11th Cir. 2013). It is enough that the record reflects the
district court’s consideration of the § 3553(a) factors. United States
v. Cabezas-Montano, 949 F.3d 567, 609 (11th Cir. 2020). Addition-
ally, a failure to discuss mitigating evidence does not indicate that
the court “erroneously ‘ignored’ or failed to consider this evi-
dence.” United States v. Amedeo, 487 F.3d 823, 833 (11th Cir. 2007).
The decision about how much weight to assign to a particular fac-
tor is within the district court’s discretion, and it is given discretion
to attach great weight to one factor over another. United States v.
Rosales-Bruno, 789 F.3d 1249, 1254 (11th Cir. 2015). We will vacate
a sentence 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 by the facts of
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4 Opinion of the Court 23-11395
the case.” Irey, 612 F.3d at 1190 (quoting United States v. Pugh, 515
F.3d 1159, 191 (11th Cir. 2008)). An indicator of a reasonable sen-
tence is one that is well below the statutory maximum for the
crime. United States v. Dougherty, 754 F.3d 1353, 1364 (11th Cir.
2014).
When considering a claim of disparity, we first consider
“whether the defendant is similarity situated to the defendants to
whom he compares himself.” United States v. Duperval, 777 F.3d
1324, 1338 (11th Cir. 2015). “A well-founded claim of dispar-
ity . . . assumes that apples are being compared to apples.” United
States v. Docampo, 573 F.3d 1091, 1101 (11th Cir. 2009) (quoting
United States v. Mateo-Espejo, 573 F.3d 1091, 1101 (1st Cir. 2005)).
The defendant has the burden of showing specific facts that estab-
lish the similar situation. United States v. Azmat, 805 F.3d 1018, 1048
(11th Cir. 2015). Courts “need[] to have more than the crime of
conviction and the total length of the sentences to evaluate alleged
disparities. The underlying facts of the crime and all of the individ-
ual characteristics are relevant.” Id.
Under the 2021 U.S. Sentencing Guidelines’ drug conversion
table, one gram of methamphetamine is equal to a converted drug
weight of two kilograms. U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1, cmt. n.8(D). One gram
of methamphetamine (actual) is equal to a converted drug weight
of 20 kilograms. Id.
In Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85 (2007), the Supreme
Court upheld a district court’s decision to vary downward from the
guideline range, holding that a district court could conclude that
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23-11395 Opinion of the Court 5
the Sentencing Guidelines’ 100-to-1 treatment disparity between
crack cocaine and powder cocaine at the time yielded a sentence
greater than necessary, supporting a downward variance. Id. 109
(2007).
A conviction under § 841(b)(1)(A) carries a statutory mini-
mum term of imprisonment of ten years and a statutory maximum
term of imprisonment of life. 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A).
Here, the district court did not abuse its discretion when it
varied downward and imposed a sentence of 240 months’ incarcer-
ation, which was below the guidelines range of 262 to 327 months’
incarceration that the district court calculated based on a total of-
fense level of 34 and a criminal history category of VI. First, the
district court indicated that it had considered the § 3553(a) factors
and identified three factors which it weighed particularly heavily in
reaching Williamson’s sentence, namely the nature and circum-
stances of the offense, the history and characteristics of the defend-
ant, and the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities, thus
satisfying its burden to demonstrate that it considered the sentenc-
ing factors. Cabezas-Montano, 949 F.3d at 609.
Next turning to Williamson’s arguments on appeal, Wil-
liamson first failed to provide sufficient information to support a
disparity claim. Indeed, his argument relies on a broad dataset of
sentences for methamphetamine traffickers, but this dataset is de-
void of any detail concerning the individual cases involved or the
specific characteristics thereof. See Azmat, 805 F.3d at 1048.
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6 Opinion of the Court 23-11395
Additionally, Williamson’s arguments that the district court
abused its discretion in failing to give proper weight to his relatively
brief prior sentences and the treatment disparity between metham-
phetamine (actual) and methamphetamine mixtures are without
merit, as the district court has broad discretion in the weight it as-
signs to any factor and can choose to attach greater or lesser weight
to one factor over another. See Rosales-Bruno, 789 F.3d at 1254. In
this case, the district court’s focus on the factors it identified and its
downward variance to 240 months’ incarceration was supported
by the significant quantity of methamphetamine involved and the
specific health concerns identified by Williamson.
Given this, Williamson’s sentence is not clearly “outside the
range of reasonable sentences dictated by the facts,” particularly as
the sentence was well below the statutory maximum of life. See
Irey, 612 F.3d at 1190; Dougherty, 754 F.3d at 1364; § 841(b)(1)(A).
Accordingly, we affirm his sentence.
AFFIRMED.
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