United States v. Quinton Darnel Delaney, Jr.

Holding: The court affirmed the criminal judgment, holding that any error in calculating the Sentencing Guidelines range was harmless.
Standard: assumed error harmlessness inquiry
Vote: Unpublished per curiam opinion affirming the district court.
Practical effect: This decision reinforces that appellate courts may affirm sentences by finding any Guidelines calculation errors harmless if the district court explicitly states it would impose the same sentence under Section thirty five hundred fifty three factors.

The Fourth Circuit affirmed a one hundred month sentence for a convicted felon possessing a firearm. The court held that any potential error in calculating the Sentencing Guidelines range was harmless because the district court would have imposed the same sentence regardless.

Background

Quinton Darnel Delaney, Jr. pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon in violation of Section eighteen United States Code Sections nine hundred twenty two subsection g one and nine hundred twenty four subsection a two. He appealed the one hundred month sentence, arguing the district court improperly expanded the scope of relevant conduct used to calculate his advisory Sentencing Guidelines range.

The court’s reasoning

The court proceeded directly to an assumed error harmlessness inquiry. It found the first prong satisfied because the district court made it abundantly clear it would have imposed the same sentence regardless of the Guidelines advice. Under the second prong, the court determined the sentence was substantively reasonable. The district court balanced the defendant’s recidivism and serious criminal history against his childhood circumstances and independence. The court concluded that any error in the calculation of the Guidelines range was harmless.

we may proceed directly to an assumed error harmlessness inquiry

United States v. Gomez-Jimenez, 750 F.3d 370, 382 (4th Cir. 2014)

What it means going forward

This decision reinforces that appellate courts may affirm sentences by finding any Guidelines calculation errors harmless if the district court explicitly states it would impose the same sentence under Section thirty five hundred fifty three factors.