UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. THERESA CALTON, Defendant - Appellant.
No. 15-10874 Consolidated with 17-10541
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
August 20, 2018
United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED August 20, 2018 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Before JOLLY, ELROD, and WILLETT, Circuit Judges.
Theresa Calton was sentenced to 262 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. Calton filed two sentence-reduction motions under
I.
Theresa Calton sold crack cocaine to undercover police officers numerous times in 2009 and 2010. When officers attempted to arrest Calton, she fled in her vehicle, in which she then rammed a law enforcement vehicle, crossed several medians, and reached speeds of 80 to 100 miles per hour. She afterwards abandoned her vehicle and was later arrested. Calton pleaded guilty without a plea agreement to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance in violation of
At the sentencing hearing, the district court adopted the conclusions and factual findings of the PSR as modified or supplemented by the addendum. Thus, the district court concluded that Calton‘s total offense level was 34 and her Guidelines range was 262 to 327 months’ imprisonment. The district court stated that it was “persuaded that [Calton‘s] sentence should be at the very bottom of the guideline range.” Accordingly, the district court sentenced Calton to 262 months’ imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release.
In December 2014, Calton, proceeding pro se, submitted a form motion for a sentence reduction pursuant to
We determined that Calton‘s notice of appeal was untimely filed. United States v. Calton, No. 15-10250 (5th Cir. June 16, 2015). However, we noted that
Calton then filed a second
Calton, still proceeding pro se, also filed in the district court a document styled as a “Motion Pursuant to [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure] 60.” In her motion, Calton again objected to the district court‘s denial of her initial
II.
“[T]he district court‘s decision whether to reduce a sentence is reviewed for abuse of discretion,” but a district court‘s conclusion that it could not reduce a sentence based on an interpretation or application of the Guidelines is reviewed de novo. United States v. Doublin, 572 F.3d 235, 237 (5th Cir. 2009). “We review de novo whether the district court had jurisdiction to resentence.” United States v. Garcia, 606 F.3d 209, 212 n.5 (5th Cir. 2010) (quoting United States v. Bridges, 116 F.3d 1110, 1112 (5th Cir. 1997)).
III.
A.
“[E]very federal appellate court has a special obligation to ‘satisfy itself not only of its own jurisdiction, but also that of the lower courts in a cause under review,’ even though the parties are prepared to concede it.” Bender v. Williamsport Area Sch. Dist., 475 U.S. 534, 541 (1986) (quoting Mitchell v. Maurer, 293 U.S. 237, 244 (1934)). Thus, we consider first whether the district court had jurisdiction to consider Calton‘s successive
[I]n the case of a defendant who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment based on a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered by the Sentencing Commission ..., upon motion of the defendant..., the court may reduce the term of imprisonment, after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable, if such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.
We have determined that a district court may have jurisdiction to consider an initial
While we have not yet addressed whether a district court has jurisdiction to consider a successive
Today we join all of our sister circuits that have considered the question and hold that district courts have jurisdiction to consider successive
B.
We next consider our own jurisdiction over Calton‘s appeal from the denial of her successive
The question of the proper basis for jurisdiction over appeals from decisions concerning
than
We join the Second, Third, Ninth, Tenth, and D.C. Circuits and hold that
notice of appeal in the district court for review of an otherwise final sentence . . . .” (emphasis added)). Thus, “it appears that at least the most obvious reading of
C.
Having concluded that the district court had jurisdiction to consider Calton‘s successive
“Application of res judicata is proper only if the following four requirements are met: (1) the parties must be identical in the two suits; (2) the prior judgment must have been rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction; (3) there must be a final judgment on the merits; and (4) the same cause of action must be involved in both cases.” Russell v. SunAmerica Sec., Inc., 962 F.2d 1169, 1172 (5th Cir. 1992). Res judicata “prevents collateral attack on the result of the completed lawsuit between the same parties.” Pegues v. Morehouse Par. Sch. Bd., 706 F.2d 735, 738 (5th Cir. 1983) (quoting Loumar v. Smith, 698 F.2d 759, 762 (5th Cir. 1983)); see also 18 Charles Alan Wright et al., Federal Practice and Procedure § 4404 (3d ed.) (“Res judicata applies as between separate actions, not within the confines of a single action on trial or appeal.“).
In United States v. Alvarez, 210 F.3d 309 (5th Cir. 2000), we affirmed the principle that “a § 3582(c)(2) motion is not a civil postconviction action but a ‘step in a criminal
Having concluded that res judicata cannot bar Calton‘s appeal, we turn to the doctrine known as law of the case. Law of the case “applies to a single proceeding, and operates to foreclose re-examination of decided issues either on remand or on a subsequent appeal.” Pegues, 706 F.2d at 738. However, “law of the case is not a jurisdictional rule, but a discretionary practice.” United States v. Matthews, 312 F.3d 652, 657 (5th Cir. 2002). “Unlike res judicata, the law of the case doctrine does not encompass issues presented for decision but left unanswered by the appellate court.” Pegues, 706 F.2d at 738.
Even assuming that the government has not forfeited any argument based on law of the case, the doctrine does not apply here because we have not previously decided whether Calton is eligible for a sentence reduction pursuant to Amendment 782. In an order granting Calton‘s motion to proceed IFP, we determined that “whether the district court erred in denying Calton‘s § 3582(c)(2) motion constitutes a nonfrivolous issue for appeal.” United States v. Calton, No. 15-10874, at 3 (5th Cir. Mar. 16, 2016). However, we also noted that “[a]nother issue implicated in this appeal is whether Calton is procedurally barred from obtaining relief due to having previously filed a similar § 3582(c)(2) motion, or [by] the doctrines of res judicata or law of the case . . . .” Id. at 3 (citations omitted). Because we have not previously decided whether Calton may obtain relief on her successive motion for sentence reduction, law of the case poses no bar.7
D.
Having determined that no jurisdictional or procedural hurdle bars Calton‘s consolidated appeal, we now consider the merits. The government concedes that the district court erred in determining that
This was error. While the Probation Officer noted that the career-offender provisions of Guideline
IV.
Accordingly, because no jurisdictional or procedural hurdle bars Calton‘s consolidated appeal and because the district court erred in determining that it lacked authority to reduce Calton‘s sentence pursuant to Amendment 782 of the Guidelines, we VACATE the district court‘s decision denying Calton‘s successive
