Opinion
No. 08-10238.
December 18, 2009.
Stephanie Kearns, Regina Cannon Stephenson, Federal Defender Program, Inc., Atlanta, GA, for Defendant-Appellant.
Sarah E. Harrington, Angela Miller, Jessica Dunsay Silver, USDOJ, Washington, DC, Susan Coppedge, John Andrew Horn, U.S. Attorney's Office, Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. D.C. Docket No. 05-00479-CR-JTC-1-1.
Before DUBINA, Chief Judge, BIRCH and BLACK, Circuit Judges.
After having thoroughly reviewed the record and briefs, and having had the benefit of oral argument in this case, we are of the opinion that Appellant's convictions should be affirmed. With regard to the general sentence imposed by the district court, however, we vacate and remand. A general sentence is per se illegal when it exceeds the maximum allowable sentence on one of the counts for which it is imposed. United States v. Woodard, 938 F.2d 1255, 1256 (11th Cir. 1991). That the district court has the authority to impose the same sentence upon remand does not change our duty to vacate the general sentence and remand so that the court may impose a legal sentence. See Jones v. United States, 224 F.3d 1251, 1259 (11th Cir. 2000).
AFFIRMED, in part, and VACATED AND REMANDED, in part.