United States v. Steven Syms
2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 759
| 7th Cir. | 2017Background
- Syms pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine (5 kg+), and was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment.
- Multi‑agency investigation tied Syms to trafficking between Houston and St. Louis; law enforcement seized ~19.91 kg from a courier and 982 g from a later search; coconspirators implicated Syms in additional shipments.
- The PSR attributed 61.8 kg of cocaine to Syms based on coconspirator statements; it recommended a base offense level leading to a Guidelines range of 151–188 months after a leadership enhancement and acceptance credit.
- Syms initially objected to drug‑quantity and leadership findings in the PSR but later withdrew those objections and did not press safety‑valve or constitutional arguments at sentencing.
- District court adopted the PSR, applied a manager/supervisor enhancement, calculated a total offense level resulting in a 151‑month sentence (the low end of the Guidelines), imposed a $500 fine and five years’ supervised release.
Issues
| Issue | Syms' Argument | Government's / District Court's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Separation‑of‑powers challenge to mandatory minimums | Mandatory minimums vest prosecutors with power to dictate sentences, stripping judicial discretion | Precedent supports mandatory minimums; courts retain sentencing discretion within statutory bounds | Rejected — precedent controls (mandatory minimums constitutional) |
| Use of uncharged conduct & coconspirator statements at sentencing (Fifth/Sixth Amendments) | PSR relied on unreliable, self‑serving coconspirator statements to increase drug quantity and apply leadership enhancement | Syms waived these objections by withdrawing them pre‑sentence; district court permissibly relied on PSR and record | Waived on appeal; claims forfeited and not reviewed on the merits |
| Eligibility for safety‑valve relief (U.S.S.G. §5C1.2 / 18 U.S.C. §3553(f)) | Syms should have received safety‑valve relief to avoid mandatory minimum | Syms did not qualify because district court found him a manager/supervisor; he failed to timely raise the issue | No relief — disqualified as leader; plain‑error review shows no reversible error |
| Eighth Amendment disproportionality challenge | 151‑month sentence is grossly disproportionate (noting co‑defendant received similar term despite worse record) | Sentence was within statutory and Guidelines ranges and not grossly disproportionate | Rejected — no inference of gross disproportionality; sentence upheld |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Nigg, 667 F.3d 929 (7th Cir.) (rejecting separation‑of‑powers challenge to mandatory minimums)
- United States v. Brucker, 646 F.3d 1012 (7th Cir.) (same)
- Chapman v. United States, 500 U.S. 453 (1991) (historical acceptance of determinate criminal sentences)
- United States v. Venturella, 585 F.3d 1013 (7th Cir.) (withdrawal of PSR objection waives appellate challenge)
- United States v. Garcia‑Segura, 717 F.3d 566 (7th Cir.) (failure to raise mitigation at sentencing waives later challenges)
- United States v. Arrington, 73 F.3d 144 (7th Cir.) (safety‑valve purpose and beneficiaries described)
- United States v. Thompson, 76 F.3d 166 (7th Cir.) (safety‑valve legislative history and scope)
- United States v. Ramirez, 783 F.3d 687 (7th Cir.) (defendant bears burden to prove safety‑valve eligibility; plain‑error discussion)
- United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725 (1993) (distinction between forfeiture and waiver; plain‑error standard)
- United States v. Rebolledo‑Delgadillo, 820 F.3d 870 (7th Cir.) (standard of review for safety‑valve factual findings)
- United States v. Marin, 144 F.3d 1085 (7th Cir.) (safety‑valve inapplicable to organizers/leaders)
- Ewing v. California, 538 U.S. 11 (2003) (narrow proportionality principle for noncapital sentences)
- Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277 (1983) (three‑factor proportionality test)
- Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957 (1991) (seriousness of drug offenses in proportionality analysis)
- United States v. Saunders, 973 F.2d 1354 (7th Cir.) (deference to Guidelines sentences in Eighth Amendment challenges)
- United States v. Jones, 950 F.2d 1309 (7th Cir.) (disfavoring Eighth Amendment challenges to Guidelines sentences)
- United States v. Washington, 109 F.3d 335 (7th Cir.) (life sentence permissible for single drug offense)