597 F. App'x 265
5th Cir.
2015

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Sergio CONTRERAS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 14-10585

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

March 13, 2015.

265-266

Phelesa M. Guy, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney‘s Office, Dallas, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Monica F. Markley, Douglas Anthony Morris, Esq., Federal Public Defender‘s Office, Fort Worth, Dallas, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before PRADO, OWEN and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Sergio Contreras appeals the 60-month sentence imposed for his conviction for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. He contends that the district court erred in denying him a safety-valve reduction.

We review the district court‘s findings of fact for clear error and its legal conclusions de novo. United States v. Miller, 179 F.3d 961, 963-64 (5th Cir.1999). We need not decide whether to apply plain error review because Contreras‘s claim of error fails even under the ordinary standard of review.

A defendant may receive a two-level reduction in his offense level if he, inter alia, provides truthful information to the Government concerning the offense of conviction. See U.S.S.G. §§ 2D1.1(b)(16) (2013), 5C1.2(a)(5); 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(5). Contrary to Contreras‘s argument, Miller does not preclude us from concluding that Contreras‘s untruthfulness about the source of cocaine in the instant offense independently justify the denial of the safety-valve reduction so long as there is evidence that Contreras lied. See Miller, 179 F.3d at 967-69. The district court‘s finding that Contreras was not truthful was plausible in light of the record as a whole and not clearly erroneous. See United States v. Montes, 602 F.3d 381, 384 (5th Cir.2010).

The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

LITTLE PENCIL, L.L.C.; David L. Miller, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. LUBBOCK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 14-10731

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

March 13, 2015.

266

Jeremy D. Tedesco, Esq., Scottsdale, AZ, Robert Smead Hogan, Esq., Lubbock, TX, Kevin Hayden Theriot, Leawood, KS, David Andrew Cortman, Senior Counsel, Rory Thomas Gray, John Matthew Sharp, Lawrenceville, GA, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Ann Manning, David Paul Backus, Lubbock, TX, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before JOLLY and DENNIS, Circuit Judges, and RAMOS,* District Judge.

PER CURIAM:**

The plaintiffs seek to display an image and website address on the jumbotron at

Notes

*
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 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 Cir. R. 47.5.4. District Judge of the Southern District of Texas, sitting by designation.
**
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 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 Cir. R. 47.5.4.