United States v. Babineaux

*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 R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this opinion should not be
published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
September 1, 2004
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 01-40601
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
DALTON BABINEAUX,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Texas
(USDC No. 1:99-CR-84-1)
_______________________________________________________
Before REAVLEY, JONES and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
REAVLEY, Circuit Judge:*
Dalton Babineaux appeals from his sentence for possession with intent to
distribute crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a) (1). Babineaux argues that the
district court erred in denying his motion for a downward departure based upon its
mistaken assumption that it did not have the authority to grant a departure.

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2
The record does not show that the district court misunderstood the scope of its
authority to depart downward. Therefore, this court does not have the jurisdiction to
review the district court’s decision to decline to grant a downward departure. See United
States v. Buck, 324 F.3d 786, 798 (5th Cir. 2003).
APPEAL DISMISSED.

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