Background

• Burney pleaded guilty to possessing stolen mail in 2010 and received a 12 months and 1 day sentence plus a 3-year supervised release.
• His supervised release began January 30, 2011, and he violated multiple terms within five months, including drug use and failure to report.
• The SRVR designated a Grade A violation for possession of a controlled substance, creating a 24–30 month guideline range, capped by the statutory 24-month maximum.
• At the revocation hearing Burney admitted to all but the Grade A allegation; the government dismissed that charge but the district court adopted the SRVR in full.
• The district court found revocation mandatory and sentenced Burney to 18 months in prison and 18 months of supervised release.
• Burney appeals, contending the court erred by relying on the Grade A finding that the government had dismissed.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• United States v. Evans, 587 F.3d 667 (5th Cir.2009) (review of Guidelines interpretation and fact-finding for clear error)
• United States v. Headrick, 963 F.2d 777 (5th Cir.1992) (standard for revocation of supervised release and guideline interpretation)
• Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (U.S. 2007) (bifurcated review for sentencing decisions)
• United States v. Ibarra-Luna, 628 F.3d 712 (5th Cir.2010) (requirement to correctly calculate applicable Guidelines range)
• Morales-Sanchez v. United States, 609 F.3d 637 (5th Cir.2010) (guideline miscalculation can taint non-Guidelines sentence)
• United States v. Davis, 602 F.3d 643 (5th Cir.2010) (plain-error review when Grade misclassification; harsher consequences)
• United States v. Mitchell, 212 Fed.Appx. 319 (5th Cir.2007) (statutory maximum revocation sentence despite misapplication of Guidelines)
• Chavez-Hernandez v. United States, 671 F.3d 494 (5th Cir.2012) (plain-error preservation and the importance of timely objections)
• Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (U.S.1988) (adversarial process and vigorous representation principle)