United States of America v. Julius Malik Heard

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 17-2225
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Julius Malik Heard
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the District of Minnesota - St. Paul
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Submitted: April 13, 2018
Filed: June 28, 2018
[Unpublished]
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Before SMITH, Chief Judge, WOLLMAN and LOKEN, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Julius Heard appeals his 71-month sentence imposed by the district court after1
he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, arguing that the district
The Honorable Michael J. Davis, United States District Judge for the District1
of Minnesota.

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court erred in denying a downward departure based on overstatement of Heard’s
criminal history.
Having reviewed the record, we conclude that we lack authority to review the
district court’s denial of a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3(b)(1) because
the district court was aware of its authority to depart, and Heard does not contend that
the district court had any unconstitutional motive. See United States v. Johnson, 517
F.3d 1020, 1023 (8th Cir. 2008) (“We will generally not review a decision not to
grant a downward departure unless the district court had an unconstitutional motive
or erroneously thought that it was without authority to grant the departure.”).
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
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