USA v. Steven Garcia

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 23-12279
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
STEVEN GARCIA,
Defendant-Appellant.
____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
D.C. Docket No. 8:17-cr-00554-MSS-JSS-1
____________________
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2 Opinion of the Court 23-12279
Before J ORDAN , L AGOA, and BRASHER , Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Steven Garcia appeals his sentence of 24 months of impris-
onment, arguing that it is both procedurally and substantively un-
reasonable. We disagree. In both procedure and substance, Gar-
cia’s sentence is eminently reasonable. So we affirm.
I.
Several years ago, Garcia was on supervised release after
serving time for second-degree burglary. He was found with weap-
ons and drugs, and he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession
of a firearm. He served more time and was out on supervision
when he again violated several of the conditions of his supervised
release. He used drugs. He did not keep in touch with probation.
He even moved without informing his probation officer. What
prompted charges, though, was a chase. Police saw him speeding
and attempted to pull him over. He fled at high speeds to avoid
arrest. His supervised release was revoked. And he was haled to
court to face a fresh sentence for violating the conditions of his re-
lease. The district court imposed a sentence of 24 months of im-
prisonment, varying upward from the guideline range of 8 to 14
months. Believing that to be an unreasonable sentence, Garcia ap-
pealed.
II.
The governing standard of review is unclear, but it does not
matter. Typically, we review sentencing decisions for an abuse of
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23-12279 Opinion of the Court 3
discretion. United States v. Shaw, 560 F.3d 1230, 1237 (11th Cir.
2009). But when a defendant offered only general objections at sen-
tencing, we review only for plain error. See United States v. Parks,
823 F.3d 990, 994–95 (11th Cir. 2016).
At sentencing, Garcia merely objected that the sentence was
procedurally and substantively unreasonable, without specifying
more. Our precedents make it unclear whether that sort of objec-
tion is general or specific. United States v. Curtin, 78 F.4th 1299,
1319–20 (11th Cir. 2023) (Newsom, J., concurring) (collecting
cases). That means that we cannot be sure whether plain error or
abuse of discretion governs here. No matter. Even under the latter,
more defendant-friendly standard, Garcia still loses.
III.
“In reviewing the reasonableness of a sentence on appeal,
this court . . . follows a two-step process. We must first determine
whether the sentence is procedurally reasonable, and then deter-
mine whether it is substantively appropriate.” United States v.
Chavez, 584 F.3d 1354, 1364 (11th Cir. 2009).
A.
We will start with whether Garcia’s sentence is procedurally
unreasonable. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) “lists seven factors that a sentenc-
ing court must consider.” Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 50 n.6
(2007). “In assessing procedural reasonableness, a court’s failure to
consider the [relevant] § 3553(a) factors constitutes significant pro-
cedural error.” United States v. Vandergrift, 754 F.3d 1303, 1308 (11th
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4 Opinion of the Court 23-12279
Cir. 2014) (cleaned up). “[A] court’s consideration of an improper
§ 3553(a) factor is likewise erroneous.” Id. 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e) gov-
erns sentencing after the revocation of supervision and lists the rel-
evant Section 3553(a) factors to consider.
Garcia argues that his sentence was procedurally unreason-
able for two main reasons.
First, Garcia says the district court failed to consider a rele-
vant Section 3553(a) factor in sentencing him. What’s the alleged
ignored factor? It is a Sentencing Commission policy statement
providing that a sentence imposed upon revocation of supervision
“should sanction primarily the defendant’s breach of trust” for fail-
ing to abide by the conditions of the court-ordered supervision.
U.S.S.G. Ch. 7, Pt. A, intro. comment 3(b). Garcia says the district
court did not base its sentence on a breach of trust. He is mistaken.
Though the district court recognized “that the underlying crime
was … not a real pretty one,” it noted that “the real reason for the
upward variance is the total abscondment” from supervision. That
statement of the “real reason” refers to Garcia’s breach of trust.
Second, Garcia says that the district court considered an im-
proper Section 3553(a) factor. Specifically, he says it considered the
seriousness of his violation and the need for just punishment,
which are not listed among the relevant Section 3553(a) factors in
Section 3583. To start, it is not clear that those are improper factors.
After all, the very policy statement Garcia points to permits consid-
ering those factors “to a limited degree.” Id. Moreover, the district
court did not focus on those factors. The district court focused on
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23-12279 Opinion of the Court 5
“abscondment.” It emphasized that “Garcia was found in . . . a dan-
gerous high speed and erratic chase … after total abscondment.”
And therefore, the district court found that “the [Section] 3553 fac-
tors, especially public safety . . . support this upward variance.” The
district court did not focus on seriousness or just punishment, but
rather the need to protect the public, which is listed among the Sec-
tion 3553(a) factors that Section 3583(e) directs courts to consider.
So we conclude that Garcia’s sentence is not procedurally
unreasonable.
B.
We next consider whether Garcia’s sentence is substantively
unreasonable. A district court imposes a substantively unreasona-
ble sentence when it: “(1) fails to afford consideration to relevant
factors that were due significant weight, (2) gives significant weight
to an improper or irrelevant 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) (quotation marks
omitted). We will vacate the defendant’s 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) fac-
tors by arriving at a sentence that lies outside the range of reason-
able sentences dictated by the facts of the case.” Id. at 1190 (quota-
tion marks omitted).
Garcia argues that his sentence was substantively unreason-
able for three main reasons, which somewhat mirror his proce-
dural arguments.
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6 Opinion of the Court 23-12279
First, Garcia says that the district court did not give sufficient
weight to the policy statement discussed above, which directs dis-
trict courts to base sentences imposed upon revocation of supervi-
sion primarily on the defendant’s breach of trust. But, as explained
above, the district court gave that statement great weight, if not
explicitly. It said that “the real reason for the upward variance is the
total abscondment” from supervision. That suggests that it based
its sentence primarily on Garcia’s breach of trust.
Second, Garcia says that the district court improperly af-
forded significant weight to the seriousness of his underlying of-
fense. Again, not so. As noted above, it is not clear that this factor
is an improper one. More importantly, the district court didn’t fo-
cus on it. Instead, it discussed the facts of his offense in considering
“public safety,” which is a factor the statute directs district courts
to consider.
Third, Garcia says that the district court committed a clear
error of judgment in imposing an upward variance. Not so. A dis-
trict court has “considerable discretion” in determining whether
the Section 3553(a) factors justify any variance. United States v.
Pugh, 515 F.3d 1179, 1191 (11th Cir. 2008). The district court noted
that this was no ordinary revocation of supervision. After all, Gar-
cia did not just violate the terms of his supervised release. Rather,
he did so in a dangerous fashion: he fled from authorities, leading
them on a high-speed chase. The district court was especially wor-
ried about Garcia’s threat to public safety, beyond the normal dan-
ger that typical post-revocation defendants pose. Faced with this
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23-12279 Opinion of the Court 7
record, we cannot say that we have a “definite and firm conviction
that the district court committed a clear error of judgment.” Irey,
612 F.3d at 1190.
IV.
Because it did not impose a procedurally or substantively
unreasonable sentence, the district court is AFFIRMED.
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