United States v. Wesley Oatman, 702 F. App'x 478

Background

Defendant Wesley Oatman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and was sentenced under the Guidelines as a career offender based on at least three prior state felony drug convictions.
With the career-offender enhancement (U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1/4B1.2), the Guidelines range was 262–327 months; without it, 168–210 months. The district court varied downward and imposed 220 months.
Oatman appealed only the legal question of whether the Sentencing Commission exceeded its statutory mandate by treating state drug convictions as qualifying offenses for the career-offender enhancement.
Oatman argued § 4B1.2 violates 28 U.S.C. § 994(d)’s command that guidelines be “entirely neutral as to . . . race,” citing racial disparities in application (64% of career-offender recipients are black) and systemic racism.
He sought invalidation of § 4B1.2 via a disparate-impact/statutory-interpretation claim (not a constitutional challenge) asserting the Commission exceeded its authority.
The Eighth Circuit declined to consider the racial-disparity argument raised for the first time on appeal, found no clear or obvious error in applying § 4B1.2, and affirmed the sentence.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Sentencing Commission exceeded its statutory mandate by including state convictions in the career-offender definition (U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2)	Oatman: inclusion of state drug convictions has a disparate racial impact and thus conflicts with § 994(d)’s command of race neutrality	Government: Commission reasonably included state and federal convictions; guidelines aim to reduce disparity and avoid arbitrary jurisdictional distinctions	Court: Affirmed; did not reach merits of disparate-impact claim because argument was raised for first time on appeal and defendant failed to show plain error
Whether statistical evidence of racial disparity renders application of § 4B1.2 unlawful under § 994(d)	Oatman: statistical disparities show § 4B1.2 is not "entirely neutral" and exceeds Commission’s mandate	Government: no statutory claim presented below; inclusion of state convictions is reasonable and consistent with other circuits	Court: Declined to consider because not raised at district court; even on reasonableness standard, application consistent with precedent and not clearly erroneous

Key Cases Cited

United States v. Consuegra, 22 F.3d 788 (8th Cir. 1994) (describing Congress’s directive to the Sentencing Commission re: repeat drug offenders)
United States v. Galloway, 976 F.2d 414 (8th Cir. 1992) (discussing breadth of the Commission’s authority and review standards)
United States v. LaBonte, 520 U.S. 751 (1997) (Commission discretion must bow to specific Congressional directives)
Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361 (1989) (purpose of the Guidelines includes reducing sentencing disparity)
United States v. Beasley, 12 F.3d 280 (1st Cir. 1993) (rejecting exclusion of state convictions as irrational and highlighting consistency concerns)
Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129 (2009) (plain-error test for arguments raised first on appeal)
United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725 (1993) (elements of plain-error review)
United States v. Williams, 53 F.3d 769 (6th Cir. 1995) (analyzing whether Guidelines fall within § 994 mandate using statutory interpretation and deference)
Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418 (2006) (discussing statutory protections exceeding constitutional baselines)
Watson v. Fort Worth Bank & Trust, 487 U.S. 977 (1988) (disparate-impact jurisprudence context)
Dothard v. Rawlinson, 433 U.S. 321 (1977) (disparate-impact and Title VII context)
Texas Dep’t of Housing & Cmty. Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., 135 S. Ct. 2507 (2015) (recognized disparate-impact claims under the Fair Housing Act)
United States v. Ybabez, 919 F.2d 508 (8th Cir. 1990) (declining similar challenge for socioeconomic neutrality when defendant failed to show miscarriage of justice)
Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984) (framework for deference to agency interpretations)