Opinion
No. 07-10660 Non-Argument Calendar.
July 23, 2007.
Scott Chandler Huggins, Adams, Hemingway Wilson, LLP, Macon, GA, for Defendant-Appellant.
Lisa Wilson Tarvin, Amy Levin Weil, U.S. Attorney Office, Atlanta, GA, Dean S. Daskel, Columbus, GA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. D.C. Docket No. 99-00058-CR-WDO-5.
Before DUBINA, WILSON and PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
Appellant James Christopher Turk appeals the district court's imposition of 24 months incarceration upon revocation of his supervised release. Turk argues that the above-guideline range sentence is unreasonable.
A district court's decision to exceed the advisory sentencing range in Chapter 7 of the Sentencing Guidelines, U.S.S.G. § 7B1.4, is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Silva, 443 F.3d 795, 798 (11th Cir. 2006) (affirming imposition of 24 months incarceration where the guidelines advised 3 to 9 months) (revoking sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)). We review the sentence imposed upon the revocation of supervised release for reasonableness. United States v. Sweeting, 437 F.3d 1105, 1106-07 (11th Cir. 2006).
Section 3583 of Title 18 provides that a district court may revoke a term of supervised release and impose a sentence of imprisonment for the violation after considering factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1), (a)(2)(B)-(D), and (a)(4)-(7). 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e). The term imposed cannot exceed the statutory maximum. See Sweeting, 437 F.3d at 1107. However, revocation of supervised release is mandatory if, among other things, the defendant possesses a controlled substance in violation of the conditions of supervised release. 18 U.S.C. § 3583(g)(1). Additionally, consideration of rehabilitative needs or the other § 3553(a) factors is neither required nor prohibited when revocation of supervised release is mandatory under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(g). United States v. Brown, 224 F.3d 1237, 1241-42 (11th Cir. 2000) (affirming imposition of 24 months incarceration where guidelines advised 11 months).
For a Class A felony, the district court may not sentence a defendant for more than five years in prison. 18 U.S.C. § 3583(b)(1). Chapter 7 of the Sentencing Guidelines addresses violations of supervised release and recommends a sentencing range of 3 to 9 months for a Grade C violation with a criminal history category of I. U.S.S.G. § 7B1.4. We have consistently held that the policy statements of Chapter 7 are merely advisory and not binding. United States v. Aguillard, 217 F.3d 1319, 1320 (11th Cir. 2000) (affirming imposition of 24 months incarceration where the guidelines advised 3 to 9 months).
Considering Turk's history and his violations of the conditions of his supervised release, we conclude from the record that the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing a sentence that exceeded the recommended guideline-range, and that the ultimate sentence was reasonable. Accordingly, we affirm Turk's sentence.
AFFIRMED.