Opinion
No. 14-10039
03-16-2015
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. VANESSA ELIZABETH PALACIOS-CORTEZ, Defendant - Appellant.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
D.C. No. 4:13-cr-01386-CKJ MEMORANDUM Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona
Marvin E. Aspen, District Judge, Presiding
Before: FARRIS, WARDLAW, and PAEZ, Circuit Judges.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
The Honorable Marvin E. Aspen, Senior United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, sitting by designation.
Vanessa Elizabeth Palacios-Cortez appeals from the district court's judgment and challenges the 65-month sentence imposed following her guilty-plea conviction for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A)(viii); and importation of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952(a) and 960(a)(1), (b)(1)(H). We have jurisdiction under 21 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
Palacios-Cortez contends that the district court procedurally erred by failing to consider the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) sentencing factors and by failing to explain adequately the sentence imposed, including its reasons for rejecting her request for a downward variance. We disagree. The record reflects that the district court considered the statutory sentencing factors and Palacios-Cortez's arguments, and sufficiently explained the sentence. See United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 992-93 (9th Cir. 2008) (en banc).
Palacios-Cortez also contends that her sentence is substantively unreasonable in light of her personal circumstances and because the applicable Guidelines are arbitrarily harsh. The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing Palacios-Cortez's sentence. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). The within-Guidelines sentence is substantively reasonable in light of the section 3553(a) sentencing factors and the totality of the circumstances, including the seriousness of the offense. See Gall, 552 U.S. at 51.
Palacios-Cortez's motion to remand for resentencing based on Amendment 782 to the Guidelines is denied. Any motion respecting the applicability of Amendment 782 should be brought in the sentencing court in the first instance. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2).
AFFIRMED.