United States v. Clayton Wright

USCA4 Appeal: 25-6202 Doc: 7 Filed: 07/29/2025 Pg: 1 of 2 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 25-6202 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. CLAYTON JAMES WRIGHT, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Wilmington. James C. Dever III, District Judge. (4:22-cr-00048-D-1) Submitted: July 24, 2025 Decided: July 29, 2025 Before NIEMEYER, AGEE, and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Clayton James Wright, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 25-6202 Doc: 7 Filed: 07/29/2025 Pg: 2 of 2 PER CURIAM: Clayton James Wright appeals the district court’s order denying relief on his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) motion for a sentence reduction pursuant to Amendment 821 to the Sentencing Guidelines. We affirm. “We review a district court’s decision [whether] to reduce a sentence under § 3582(c)(2) for abuse of discretion and its ruling as to the scope of its legal authority under § 3582(c)(2) de novo.” United States v. Mann, 709 F.3d 301, 304 (4th Cir. 2013). Here, the district court clearly understood its authority to reduce Wright’s sentence and recognized Wright’s postsentencing rehabilitative conduct, but the court ultimately declined to reduce the sentence based on its review of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors. We discern no abuse of discretion. We deny Wright’s motion to appoint counsel and affirm the district court’s denial of Wright’s § 3582(c)(2) motion for a sentence reduction. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 2