United States of America v. Darric Joel Sweeney

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 19-4546

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

DARRIC JOEL SWEENEY,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at
Clarksburg. Irene M. Keeley, Senior District Judge. (1:08-cr-00077-IMK-MJA-1)

Submitted: February 27, 2020 Decided: May 20, 2020

Before NIEMEYER and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Brian J. Kornbrath, Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC
DEFENDER, Clarksburg, West Virginia. William J. Powell, United States Attorney,
Wheeling, West Virginia, Zelda E. Wesley, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF
THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Clarksburg, West Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Darric Joel Sweeney appeals the 24-month prison sentence the district court
imposed upon revocation of his supervised release. On appeal, Sweeney alleges that the
district court erred by improperly relying on rehabilitative factors in determining the length
of his sentence, see Tapia v. United States, 564 U.S. 319, 334-35 (2011), though he did not
object to his sentence on this basis before the district court. For the following reason, we
affirm the judgment of the district court.
“A district court has broad discretion when imposing a sentence upon revocation of
supervised release.” United States v. Webb, 738 F.3d 638, 640 (4th Cir. 2013). “We will
affirm a revocation sentence if it is within the statutory maximum and is not plainly
unreasonable.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). “When reviewing whether a
revocation sentence is plainly unreasonable, we must first determine whether it is
unreasonable at all.” United States v. Thompson, 595 F.3d 544, 546 (4th Cir. 2010). In
making this determination, we are guided by “the same procedural and substantive
considerations that guide our review of original sentences.” United States v. Padgett, 788
F.3d 370, 373 (4th Cir. 2015) (brackets and internal quotation marks omitted). “A
revocation sentence is procedurally reasonable if the district court adequately explains the
chosen sentence after considering the Sentencing Guidelines’ nonbinding Chapter Seven
policy statements and the applicable 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) [(2018)] factors.” United States
v. Slappy, 872 F.3d 202, 207 (4th Cir. 2017) (footnotes omitted). “[A] revocation sentence
is substantively reasonable if the court sufficiently states a proper basis for its conclusion

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that the defendant should receive the sentence imposed.” Id. at 207 (brackets and internal
quotation marks omitted).
When formulating a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(a) (2018) “precludes sentencing
courts from imposing or lengthening a prison term to promote an offender’s rehabilitation.”
Tapia, 564 U.S. at 332; see United States v. Bennett, 698 F.3d 194, 198 (4th Cir. 2012)
(holding Tapia applies to sentences imposed upon revocation of supervised release).
Sweeney asserts that the district court erred by sentencing him based on prohibited
rehabilitative factors – specifically, the need for Sweeney to be medicated. But because
Sweeney did not object to his sentence on this basis before the district court, this challenge
is reviewed only for plain error. United States v. Lemon, 777 F.3d 170, 172 (4th Cir. 2015)
(reviewing similar claim for plain error because “issue was not raised at the revocation
hearing”). To demonstrate plain error, a defendant must show “(1) that the district court
erred; (2) that the error was plain; and (3) that the error affected his substantial rights,
meaning that it affected the outcome of the district court proceedings.” Bennett, 698 F.3d
at 200 (brackets and internal quotation marks omitted). Even where a defendant satisfies
these requirements, we need only correct the error if it “seriously affects the fairness,
integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.” Molina-Martinez v. United States,
136 S. Ct. 1338, 1343 (2016) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Here, not only did Sweeney fail to object to his sentence on this basis before the
district court, but he also does not address this failure on appeal – even after the government
raised this issue in its response brief. As a result, Sweeney does not so much as assert that
any purported error was plain, or that it affected the outcome of the proceedings. Thus, he

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has not met his burden of showing that his sentence resulted from plain error. Accordingly,
we affirm the judgment of the district court. We dispense with oral argument because the
facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED