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UNITED STATES v. HORNE (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.2021-08-20No. No. 21-40177

Summary

Holding. The court vacated the district court's denial of Horne's compassionate release motion and remanded the case for reconsideration, concluding that the district court abused its discretion by relying exclusively on the sentencing guideline rather than applying the proper legal framework for evaluating such motions.

Tommy James Lee Horne, a federal inmate, appealed the district court's rejection of his request for compassionate release under federal law. Horne argued that the district court wrongly based its decision entirely on a sentencing guideline provision that does not control compassionate release decisions brought by prisoners. The appeals court agreed that while sentencing guidelines may be considered in such cases, they are not binding on the district court's analysis.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether sentencing guideline § 1B1.13 binds district courts in compassionate release decisions
  • Proper legal standard for reviewing a § 3582(c)(1)(A) compassionate release motion
  • Whether district court abused discretion by relying solely on guidelines rather than applicable statutory factors

Procedural posture

A federal inmate appealed the district court's denial of his compassionate release motion, challenging the legal basis for the denial.

Authorities cited

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Opinion

Tommy James Lee Horne, federal prisoner # 10536-078, appeals the denial of his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion for compassionate release. He contends, among other things, that the district court erred by relying on U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, p.s., in denying his motion because § 1B1.13, p.s., and its commentary do not apply to § 3582(c)(1)(A) motions brought by prisoners. We review the district courts denial of Hornes § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion for an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691, 693 (5th Cir. 2020). A district court abuses its discretion when its decision is grounded in a legal error or clearly erroneous facts. Id.

Following the denial of Hornes motion, we held that, although § 1B1.13, p.s. can be considered by a court, a district court is not bound by that section in considering a § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion brought by a prisoner. See United States v. Shkambi, 993 F.3d 388, 392-93 (5th Cir. 2021). Because the district court did not have the benefit of Shkambi and appears to have relied exclusively upon § 1B1.13, p.s., 1

we conclude that the decision should be reconsidered under the applicable cases. See United States v. Cooper, 996 F.3d 283, 288 (5th Cir. 2021); see Shkambi, 993 F.3d at 393; Chambliss, 948 F.3d at 693.

The denial of Hornes § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion is VACATED, and the case is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FOOTNOTES

FOOTNOTE

1

.   While stating that § 1B1.13, p.s. “informs” the decision, the district relied only upon that definition and did not address anything else, such as 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Thus, we conclude that § 1B1.13, p.s. was improperly applied as binding.

Per Curiam:*

FN* Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 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 Circuit Rule 47.5.4.