IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

WESTERN DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,
vs.
CARLIN Q. WILLIAMS,
Defendant.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No. 13-00131-01-CR-W-FJG

DEFENDANTS 18 U.S.C. 3553 SENTENCING MEMORANDUM

Comes now the defendant, Carlin Williams, by and through counsel, Carie Allen,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, and respectfully moves this Court to consider a nonguideline sentence in this case and sentence Mr. Williams to a term imprisonment
below the advisory guideline range based on the sentencing criteria established at 18
U.S.C. 3553.

SUGGESTIONS SUPPORTING SENTENCE

In imposing any sentence, 18 U.S.C. 3553 generally directs that the Court shall
impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary. Among the factors for the
Court to consider are the nature and circumstances of the offense, the history and
characteristics of the defendant, the need to reflect the seriousness of the offense,
promote respect for the law, provide just punishment, afford an adequate deterrence to

Case 4:13-cr-00131-FJG Document 26 Filed 04/23/14 Page 1 of 6

criminal conduct, and to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant. (See
18 U.S.C. 3553(a)).
The advisory sentencing guidelines are an additional factor for the Court to
consider but a district court may not begin with the presumption that those guidelines
are reasonable. United States v. Alvizo-Trujillo, 521 F.3d 1015, 1018-1019 (8th
Cir.2008)(citing United States v. Gall, 128 S.Ct. 586, 596-597 (2007) and United States v.
Rita, 127 S.Ct. 2456 (2007)).
History and Characteristics of Mr. Williams
As detailed in the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR), Mr. Williams
childhood had limited guidance. While he reported a close relationship with his
mother, he was primarily raised by his grandmother, an indication that his mother was
not a stable parent at that time in his life. He has 7 half siblings; none share a father with
him. His father had no presence at all in his life. Mr. Williams dropped out of school in
the 10th grade.
It would not be difficult to predict that when an unstructured upbringing is
accompanied by immaturity and lack of direction, that problems with the legal system
will emerge. Mr. Williams criminal history started, unsurprisingly, with drug cases. He
was convicted of trafficking of crack cocaine at age 25 and possession of crack cocaine at
27. His most recent conviction for resisting arrest occurred at age 34 in 2012.
2

Case 4:13-cr-00131-FJG Document 26 Filed 04/23/14 Page 2 of 6

Because of his criminal record, his criminal history category is raised to a VI. In
addition, Mr. Williams received a base offense level score of 24, enhanced entirely
because of prior convictions. 1 If Mr. Williams had committed this exact same offense
without the enhancement for his prior convictions, his base offense level would be 14.
Guideline section 2K2.1 is somewhat unique because it allows for a persons criminal
history to bump up both the offense level and the criminal history score. Because of this,
Mr. Williams criminal history is, essentially, double-counted when computing his
guideline range. The fact that his history is taken into account twice creates a substantial
difference in this range. Were he to receive a base offense score of 14 with a criminal
history category of VI, his guideline range would be 33-41 months. 2 Instead, because
his prior convictions are taken into account to raise the offense level, as well to raise the
criminal history category, his guideline range is now 92-115 months. This is almost
triple what the range would be without the offense level enhancement. The Court can
take into account, and adjust to, this discrepancy by imposing a sentence below the
guidelines.

1 The base offense of this crime is a 24 because Defendant has committed the instant offense subsequent to sustaining
at least two felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense. United States Sentencing
Commission Guidelines Manual 2K2.1(2).
2 These calculations include the 2 point adjustment for a stolen firearm and the 3 point reduction for acceptance of
responsibility as contained in the PSR.

Case 4:13-cr-00131-FJG Document 26 Filed 04/23/14 Page 3 of 6

Nature & Circumstances of this Offense

Mr. Williams pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a
firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). At the time of his arrest for the pistol, Mr.
Williams was also driving a stolen vehicle. He was charged in Jackson County, Missouri
with Stealing a Motor Vehicle, and received a 3 year prison sentence on June 1 of 2012.
Because of this, Mr. Williams started serving time for the events relating to this offense
almost two years ago.
Additionally, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has noted that unlawful
possession of a firearm is not per se a crime of violence. United States v. Clark, 563
F.3d 771, 773 (8th Cir.2009). The United States Sentencing Guidelines also recognize
that simple possession of a firearm is not a crime of violence. (See U.S.S.G. 4B1.2, n.1
(Crime of violence does not include the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by
a felon, unless the possession was of a firearm described in 26 U.S.C. 5845(a)). While
the circumstances surrounding Mr. Williams case are inherently dangerous, they are
not particularly egregious.
Seriousness of the Offense, Promote Respect for the Law, Deterrent
For Mr. Williams, the punitive purpose of sentencing can be achieved with a belowrange sentence. For him, even a sentence below the guidelines represents significant
punishment because it would be the longest prison term he has served, and by far. Prior
4

Case 4:13-cr-00131-FJG Document 26 Filed 04/23/14 Page 4 of 6

to his continuous period of incarceration starting on June 1, 2012, the longest sentence
Mr. Williams had ever served in prison was 120 days pursuant to Missouris shock
incarceration program.3 The longest sentence that he has served in county jail was 6
months. Even a below-range sentence will, therefore, be more than sufficiently deterrent
for Mr. Williams individually, as well as sending a message to others.
Protect the Public
Even with a below the guidelines sentence, Mr. Williams will be in his early
forties before he returns to the community. In addition, he will be subject to a
substantial period of post-imprisonment supervision by the Court.
Rehabilitation
It is noteworthy that Mr. Williams has only participated in one previous
substance abuse program during one of his brief incarcerations. During the course of his
imprisonment, Mr. Williams could take advantage of the Bureau of Prisons 500
residential drug abuse treatment program.

3 Mr. Williams served multiple 120-day shock incarcerations pursuant to RSMo 559.115 in both his trafficking case from
2002 and his possession case. It appears that these prison sentences were served concurrently. All of his other convictions,
until his sentence in 2012, either resulted in a county jail sentence or a probation. In 2012, Mr. Williams received three
concurrent 3-year sentences for stealing a motor vehicle (the arrest that led to this case), resisting arrest, and for violating
his probation in his domestic assault case. This 3-year sentence has been his longest remand to prison to date. Mr.
Williams was transferred directly from this sentence in the Missouri Department of Correction to federal custody in this
case, where he has remained since 2013.

Case 4:13-cr-00131-FJG Document 26 Filed 04/23/14 Page 5 of 6

A review of Mr. Williams case in light of the sentencing factors

enumerated in 18 U.S.C. 3553 demonstrates that a below guideline sentence is more
than sufficient.
WHEREFORE, defendant respectfully requests this Court to impose a sentence
below the advisory guideline range recommended in the presentence investigation
report.

Respectfully submitted,
/s/CARIE ALLEN
Assistant Federal Public Defender
818 Grand Avenue, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64106
(816) 471-8282

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
It is hereby CERTIFIED that the foregoing motion was electronically filed on this
23rd day of April, 2014, and that a copy was e-mailed to Jess Michaelsen, Assistant U. S.
Attorney, 400 E. 9th St., KC, MO 64106, pursuant to the Electronic Case Filing system.
/s/CARIE ALLEN

Case 4:13-cr-00131-FJG Document 26 Filed 04/23/14 Page 6 of 6