United States v. Montague, 09-5542

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DEMARIO MONTAGUE, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 09-5542

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

Dated: October 19, 2011

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION

File Name: 11a0716n.06

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT

COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE

OPINION

Before: CLAY and STRANCH, Circuit Judges; BARRETT, District Judge.^*

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. Demario Montague appeals his conviction and 110-month sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Montague challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction and the procedural and substantive reasonableness of his sentence. Although we are unpersuaded by Montague's sufficiency-of-the-evidence argument, we conclude that his sentence is procedurally unreasonable because the district court failed to appreciate its authority to reject or vary, on policy grounds, from the Sentencing Guidelines' stolen-firearm enhancement. Consequently, we AFFIRM Montague's conviction, but VACATE his sentence and REMAND for resentencing.

I. BACKGROUND

On November 8, 2007, Montague was indicated on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). On March 27, 2008, a superseding indictment added a second count for knowingly possessing a stolen firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(j). The charges originated from a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Montague was riding with two other individuals. Montague was riding in the backseat with a white towel or bandana around his face, which, along with a missing rear-view mirror, drew the attention of Officer Wallace of the Memphis Police Department. Victims of several robberies in the area had described the perpetrator as having a white towel or bandana wrapped around his face.

At trial, Officer Wallace testified that during the traffic stop, he saw Montague repeatedly reach down between his legs while seated in the vehicle, despite repeated instructions to stop doing so. Several other officers at the scene witnessed similar behavior. Officer Bronstein observed Montague reaching down and moving around as if he was trying to conceal something on the floorboard. Officer Robinson also testified that he saw Montague attempting to shove something underneath the seat, and that each time the officer would move his head a little bit, Montague would reach down below his seat. As the officers removed Montague from the vehicle, Officer Wallace saw a pistol "in plain view" on the floorboard in front of Montague's seat. Officer Bronstein also saw the gun on the floorboard, where Montague had been seated, as did Officer Robinson.

The jury convicted Montague of the felon in possession charge, but acquitted him of knowingly possessing a stolen firearm. The Presentence Investigation Report ("PSR") calculated a total offense level of 28, which included two two-level enhancements, one for obstruction ofjustice, U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1, and one for possession of a stolen firearm, U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(4)(A). At sentencing, the district court declined to apply the first enhancement, finding insufficient evidence that Montague had obstructed justice. The court, however, applied the stolen-firearm enhancement because there was no dispute that the firearm was stolen and the Guidelines commentary provides that the enhancement strictly applies regardless of whether the defendant knew the firearm was stolen. The court denied Montague's request that it vary from the stolen-firearm enhancement on policy grounds because the enhancement lacked a reliable empirical basis. In doing so, the court repeatedly expressed its view that it is not the district court's job to "figure out whether the Guidelines are justified or not."

Based on a total offense level of 26 and a criminal history category V, the district court calculated the Sentencing Guidelines range of imprisonment to be 110 to 120 months.¹ The district court imposed a sentence of 110 months to be followed by three years of supervised release. Montague filed this timely appeal, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction and the procedural and substantive reasonableness of his sentence.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence to Support Montague's Conviction

1. Standard of Review

When considering a sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge to a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), this Court does not "weigh the evidence presented, consider the credibility of witnesses, or substitute [its] judgment for that of the jury." United States v. M/G Transp. Servs., Inc., 173 F.3d 584, 588-89 (6th Cir. 1999). Rather, "the question before us is whether, 'after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.'" United States v. Martinez, 588 F.3d 301, 314 (6th Cir. 2009) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979)). "In making this determination, we reverse a judgment for insufficiency of evidence only if the judgment is not supported by substantial and competent evidence upon the record as a whole, whether or not the evidence is direct or wholly circumstantial." Id. (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted).

2. Sufficiency of the Evidence Analysis

In order to secure a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), the Government must prove three elements: (1) that the defendant had a previous felony conviction; (2) that the defendant possessed the firearm; and (3) that the firearm traveled in or affected interstate commerce. United States v. Gardner, 488 F.3d 700, 713 (6th Cir. 2007). In this case, the only element in dispute is the sufficiency of the evidence to support a finding that Montague possessed the firearm. "Actual or constructive possession is sufficient to give rise to criminal liability under § 922(g)," United Statesv. Schreane, 331 F.3d 548, 560 (6th Cir. 2003), and both may be proven by circumstantial evidence, United States v. Davis, 577 F.3d 660, 671 (6th Cir. 2009).

"[C]onstructive possession exists when a person does not have actual possession but instead knowingly has the power and the intention at a given time to exercise dominion and control over an object, either directly or through others." Gardner, 488 F.3d at 713 (internal quotation marks omitted). A defendant's mere physical proximity to a gun is insufficient proof of constructive possession. United States v. Arnold, 486 F.3d 177, 183 (6th Cir. 2007) (en banc). However, as this Court summarized in United States v. Bailey, 553 F.3d 940 (6th Cir. 2009), "[i]n cases involving a police officer's discovery of a firearm located on or underneath a seat of the car that the defendant . . . rode in as a passenger, courts of appeals have found sufficient evidence to establish constructive possession when there exists additional evidence beyond proximity" such as "a police officer's testimony that he or she saw the defendant bend down to conceal something beneath the seat." Id. at 948 (collecting authority).

Having reviewed the record, we conclude that there is sufficient evidence to support a finding that Montague constructively possessed a firearm. Not only was the firearm found in plain view on the floorboard in front of Montague's seat, but three police officers testified that during the traffic stop they witnessed Montague repeatedly reach down in the direction of the floorboard as if to conceal something. Given the proximity of the firearm, and the officers' testimony of Montague's furtive movements, a rational juror could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Montague constructively possessed the firearm. This conclusion is supported by additional circumstantial evidence, including testimony by the other occupants of the vehicle that the gun was not theirs andtestimony by the driver of the vehicle that Montague subsequently requested that he claim ownership of the pistol. Accordingly, we reject Montague's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence.

B. District Court's Authority to Reject Stolen-Firearm Enhancement on Policy Grounds

1. Standard of Review

Montague next challenges the procedural reasonableness of his sentence, alleging that the district court failed to appreciate its authority to reject the stolen-firearm enhancement on policy grounds. This Court "review[s] sentences imposed by the district court for reasonableness." United States v. Walls, 546 F.3d 728, 736 (6th Cir. 2008). Reasonableness challenges to a sentence, both procedural and substantive, are usually considered under an abuse-of-discretion standard. United States v. Bolds, 511 F.3d 568, 578 (6th Cir. 2007). While the Government might have contended that Montague forfeited his procedural objection in the district court, United States v. Vonner, 516 F.3d 382, 386 (6th Cir. 2008) (en banc), the Government expressly conceded at oral argument that the heightened plain-error standard should not be applied to this claim. In light of this concession, we need only review the procedural reasonableness of Montague's sentence for an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Williams, 641 F.3d 758, 763-64 (6th Cir. 2011) (explaining that the Government may forfeit application of the plain-error standard by not requesting it on appeal).

2. Authority to Reject Categorically or Vary on Policy Grounds

The Supreme Court addressed a district court's authority to reject or vary from the Sentencing Guidelines on policy grounds in two cases involving the crack-cocaine Guidelines. In Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85 (2007), the Court held that "the cocaine Guidelines, like all other Guidelines, are advisory only." Id. at 91. In making the determination whether "awithin-Guidelines sentence is 'greater than necessary' to serve the objectives of sentencing" under section 3553(a), the Court held that a district court "may consider the disparity between the...