USCA11 Case: 22-11913 Document: 24-1 Date Filed: 07/25/2023 Page: 1 of 8 [DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 22-11913 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus TYDEARAIN SMITH, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 8:07-cr-00025-JDW-AAS-1 ____________________ USCA11 Case: 22-11913 Document: 24-1 Date Filed: 07/25/2023 Page: 2 of 8 2 Opinion of the Court 22-11913 Before JORDAN, BRANCH, and LUCK, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Tydearain Smith appeals the district court’s denial of his mo- tion for a sentence reduction under § 404(b) of the First Step Act. After review of the parties’ briefs and the record, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Mr. Smith’s motion. We therefore affirm.1 I In 2007, Mr. Smith was convicted of possession of 5 grams or more of crack cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B), and the brandishing of a firearm in the com- mission of a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii). The district court sentenced him to a term of 210 months of imprisonment on the crack cocaine conviction, and a consecutive term of 84 months of imprisonment on the firearm conviction, followed by an eight-year term of supervised release. The district court subsequently reduced Mr. Smith’s sentence on the crack cocaine conviction, first to 168 months of imprisonment, and then to 135 months of imprisonment, based on Amendments 706 and 782 to the Sentencing Guidelines. This is Mr. Smith’s second appeal related to the denial of his motion for a sentence reduction under § 404(b) of the First Step 1 Because we write for the parties, and assume their familiarity with the rec- ord, we set out only what is necessary to explain our decision. USCA11 Case: 22-11913 Document: 24-1 Date Filed: 07/25/2023 Page: 3 of 8 22-11913 Opinion of the Court 3 Act. In Mr. Smith’s first appeal, we held that he was eligible for a sentence reduction under § 404(b) and that the district court should not have denied Mr. Smith’s motion without giving him the oppor- tunity to present his factual and legal arguments in support of relief. See United States v. Smith, 30 F.4th 1334, 1338–39 (11th Cir. 2022). We therefore reversed the district court’s order and remanded for further proceedings. See id. at 1339. On remand, the district court directed the parties to address Mr. Smith’s entitlement to a sentence reduction under the First Step Act. Mr. Smith then filed an unopposed motion requesting relief primarily due to his exemplary post-sentencing record. High- lighting his lack of disciplinary infractions and his successful pursuit of educational and work opportunities, Mr. Smith asked the district court to reduce his sentence to a total term of imprisonment of 185 months or time served, whichever is greater, to be followed by six years’ supervised release. A few days after Mr. Smith …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals