United States v. Doctor, 409 F. App'x 615

Doctor pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and fifty grams or more of cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a), (b)(1)(A), 846.
The district court sentenced Doctor to eighty-eight months' imprisonment following the guilty plea.
Counsel filed an Anders brief questioning the district court’s denial of a downward departure based on the safety valve, § 5C1.2(a).
The appellate court reviews sentences for abuse of discretion, considering procedural integrity and the substantive reasonableness of the sentence.
The court found that Doctor failed to establish satisfaction of all safety valve requirements, so no downward departure was warranted.
The court applied reductions under §§ 5C1.3 and 5K2.23 for a state sentence of relevant conduct, resulting in an eighty-eight month total that is per se reasonable.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether safety valve denial was proper	Doctor	Doctor	Safety valve not satisfied; denial affirmed
Whether guideline range was correctly calculated with safety valve and related-conduct reductions	Doctor	Doctor	District court properly calculated range with reductions
Whether the eighty-eight month sentence is reasonable under the statute and guidelines	Doctor	Doctor	Sentence deemed procedurally and substantively reasonable; per se reasonable under statutorily required sentence

Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007) (reasonableness review of sentencing under Gall)
United States v. Evans, 526 F.3d 155 (4th Cir. 2008) (significant procedural errors in calculating or explaining sentence)
United States v. Carter, 564 F.3d 325 (4th Cir. 2009) (framework for reviewing procedural aspects of sentencing under Gall)
United States v. Farrior, 535 F.3d 210 (4th Cir. 2008) (statutorily required sentence is per se reasonable)