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Parties Involved:
Destry J. Marcotte
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

In the

United States Court of Appeals

For the Seventh Circuit ____________________

Nos. 15-1266 and 15-1271

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

DESTRY J. MARCOTTE,

Defendant-Appellant.

____________________

Appeals from the United States District Court 

for the Southern District of Illinois.

Nos. 13 CR 30053 and 14 CR 30107 — Michael J. Reagan, Judge.

____________________

ARGUED FEBRUARY 12, 2016 — DECIDED JUNE 13, 2016

____________________

Before WOOD, Chief Judge, ROVNER, Circuit Judge, and 

BLAKEY, District Judge.∗

BLAKEY, District Judge. Five of our sister courts have held 

that 18 U.S.C. §3147, through §3C1.3 of the Sentencing 

Guidelines, can enhance a sentence for the crime of failing to 

 ∗ Of the Northern District of Illinois, sitting by designation.

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2 Nos. 15-1266 and 15-1271

appear under 18 U.S.C. §3146. United States v. Duong, 665 

F.3d 364 (1st Cir. 2012); United States v. Fitzgerald, 435 F.3d 

484 (4th Cir. 2006); United States v. Dison, 573 F.3d 204 (5th 

Cir. 2009); United States v. Benson, 134 F.3d 787 (6th Cir. 

1998); and United States v. Rosas, 615 F.3d 1058 (9th Cir. 

2010). Two others have reached the same conclusion, albeit 

in unpublished decisions. United States v. Gause, 536 Fed. 

Appx. 234 (3d Cir. 2013) (unpublished); United States v. 

Clemendor, 237 Fed. Appx. 473 (11th Cir. 2007) (unpublished). None has reached a different conclusion. Against 

this consensus, Appellant Destry J. Marcotte seeks to chart 

new territory in the Seventh Circuit on an issue of first impression here. We decline that invitation and AFFIRM the 

district court’s sentence.

I

On March 19, 2013, a Federal Grand Jury returned a fivecount Indictment charging Marcotte with: (1) four counts of 

making a false claim for federal tax refunds, in violation of 

18 U.S.C. §287 (Counts 1 to 4); and (2) one count of falsely 

pretending to be an officer of the United States to demand a 

thing of value, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 912 (Count 5). On 

August 26, 2013, the district court, acting on the Government’s motion, dismissed Count 5 of the Indictment.

The tax fraud case went to trial and, on October 8, 2013, 

the jury returned a guilty verdict against Marcotte on Counts 

1 to 4. The district court set the sentencing hearing for January 17, 2014, and later reset the hearing for May 1, 2014. In 

the interim, on November 7, 2014, the district court allowed

Marcotte to be released on home confinement with electronic 

monitoring pending sentencing.

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Nos. 15-1266 and 15-1271 3

When Marcotte failed to show for his May 1, 2014 sentencing hearing, the district court issued a warrant for his

arrest. On May 21, 2014, Marcotte was indicted for failure to 

appear for sentencing, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §3146(a)(1). 

Section 3146(a)(1) punishes the failure to appear before a 

court as required by a condition of release. 

The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Marcotte on September 22, 2014. On October 30, 2014, Marcotte pled guilty to the 

failure to appear charge. The district court scheduled the

sentencing hearing for February 4, 2015, on both the tax 

fraud and failure to appear cases.

On November 17, 2014, the probation office submitted an 

initial presentence report (“PSR”) addressing Marcotte’s two 

criminal cases. The initial PSR, in relevant part, recommended a 2-level enhancement under §3C1.1 of the Sentencing 

Guidelines, and a 3-level enhancement under §3C1.3 of the 

Sentencing Guidelines. On December 31, 2014, Marcotte filed 

his objections to the initial PSR, contesting the 3-level enhancement under §3C1.3.

Section 3C1.1 requires a 2-level enhancement when a defendant “willfully obstructed or impeded ... [the] sentencing 

of the instant offense of conviction.” Application Note 4 to 

§3C1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines provides examples of 

covered conduct, including “willfully failing to appear, as 

ordered, for a judicial proceeding.” U.S.S.G. §3C1.1 cmt. 

4(E).

Additionally, Section 3C1.3 requires a 3-level enhancement for violations of 18 U.S.C. §3147. Section 3C1.3 states in 

full: 

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4 Nos. 15-1266 and 15-1271

If a statutory sentencing enhancement under 18 

U.S.C. § 3147 applies, increase the offense level by 3

levels. 

U.S.S.G. §3C1.3. Title 18 U.S.C. §3147, in turn, provides that a 

defendant convicted of an offense while released shall be 

subject to an additional punishment of no more than 10 

years. Section 3147 states in relevant part:

A person convicted of an offense committed while released under this chapter [Chapter 207] shall be sentenced, in addition to the sentence prescribed for the 

offense to—

(1) a term of imprisonment of not more than ten years 

if the offense is a felony[.]

On January 13, 2015, the Probation Office issued the final 

PSR. The final PSR’s recommendations set forth a criminal 

history category of I for Marcotte. Applying §§3D1.2(c) and 

(d) of the Sentencing Guidelines, the final PSR grouped the 

four counts from the tax fraud case with the single count 

from the failure to appear case, and calculated a total offense 

level of 27. The final PSR broke down the total offense level 

as follows:

Category Description Level

Base Level Tax fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 

287. U.S.S.G. §§ 2T1.1 and 2T4.1. 

20

Specific Offense 

Characteristics

Marcotte failed to report a source of 

income exceeding $10,000 from 

criminal activity. U.S.S.G. § 

2T1.1(b)(1).

+2

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Nos. 15-1266 and 15-1271 5

Obstructing or 

Impeding the 

Administration 

of Justice

Marcotte willfully obstructed or 

impeded the administration of justice by failing to appear for his May 

1, 2014 sentencing hearing. U.S.S.G. 

§ 3C1.1.

+2

Commission of 

Offense While 

on Release

Marcotte committed a new offense, 

that is, failure to appear under 18 

U.S.C. § 3146(a)(1), while on release

for four counts of tax fraud. 18 

U.S.C. § 3147; U.S.S.G. § 3C1.3.

+3

On February 4, 2015, the district court held the consolidated sentencing hearing. Following the final PSR’s recommendation, the district court accepted the criminal history 

category of I and the total offense level of 27, resulting in an 

advisory guideline sentence range of 70 to 87 months. The 

district court then imposed a 78-month sentence, which fell 

within the advisory guideline range. The district court divided the sentence into: (1) concurrent 50-month sentences 

for each of Counts 1 through 4 of the tax fraud case; and (2) a 

consecutive 28-month sentence for the failure to appear case.

The district court entered judgment on the failure to appear case on February 9, 2015, and on the tax fraud case the 

next day. This timely appeal followed.

II

Marcotte raises a limited objection to his sentence, arguing that the district court erred by imposing the 3-level enhancement under §3C1.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines. Had 

the district court struck the enhancement, Marcotte’s total 

offense level would have been 24, resulting in a lower advisory guideline sentence range: 51 to 63 months. We review 

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6 Nos. 15-1266 and 15-1271

the district court’s legal interpretation and application of the 

Sentencing Guidelines de novo. United States v. Jackson, 410 

F.3d 939, 941 (7th Cir. 2005).

Marcotte first argues that 18 U.S.C. §3147 (and §3C1.3 of 

the Sentencing Guidelines, in turn) does not apply to him.

When addressing questions of statutory interpretation, we 

begin with the text of the statute. Precision Industries, Inc. v. 

Qualitech Steel SBQ, LLC, 327 F.3d 537, 543-44 (7th Cir. 2003). 

When a statute is unambiguous, our inquiry “starts and 

stops” with the text. United States v. All Funds on Deposit with 

R.J. O’Brien & Associates, 783 F.3d 607, 622 (7th Cir. 2005); 

Precision Industries, 327 F.3d at 544.

Here, the statutory language is plain and unambiguous. 

Section 3147 provides, without exception, that a defendant 

such as Marcotte “convicted of an offense committed while 

released under this chapter [Chapter 207] shall” be subject to 

an additional punishment of no more than 10 years. Not appearing for sentencing in violation of 18 U.S.C. §3146, of 

course, is an “offense” under Chapter 207 of Title 18, and it 

is “committed while released.” We see nothing unreasonable 

about this interpretation. Nor have any of our sister courts.

Duong, 665 F.3d at 366-67; Rosas, 615 F.3d at 1064-65; Dison, 

573 F.3d at 207-08; Fitzgerald, 435 F.3d at 486-87; Benson, 134 

F.3d at 788; see also Gause, 536 Fed. Appx. at 236-37; Clemendor, 237 Fed. Appx. at 477-78. We, in fact, credited three of 

these decisions in United States v. Rigsby, 501 Fed. Appx. 545, 

550 (7th Cir. 2013) (unpublished).

The plain and unambiguous language of the statute prevents us from proceeding to consider other canons of construction. In re Baker, 430 F.3d 858, 860 (7th Cir. 2005). We 

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Nos. 15-1266 and 15-1271 7

need not consider the canon that a more specific statute receives precedence over a more general one. Likewise, we 

need not consider the rule of lenity, which requires that an 

ambiguous criminal statute be construed in favor of the defendant because criminal statutes must provide fair warning 

concerning conduct rendered illegal. United States v. Patel, 

778 F.3d 607, 618 (7th Cir. 2015). When a statute remains 

ambiguous even after considering its text, context, structure, 

history and purpose, then—and only then—the rule of lenity 

may apply. Barber v. Thomas, 560 U.S. 474, 488 (2010); Patel, 

778 F.3d at 618. But that is not the case here. The rule of lenity is designed to help resolve ambiguities, not create them. 

In sum, there is no need to venture beyond the text of §3147 

in this case. 

Marcotte’s two remaining arguments also lack merit. 

Marcotte argues that the district court engaged in impermissible double counting by imposing two enhancements for 

the same misconduct—his failure to appear.

The Sentencing Guidelines, however, expressly permit 

cumulative guideline enhancements for the same misconduct. Under Application Note 4(B) to §1B1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines, enhancements under Section 3 (and elsewhere) are applied “cumulatively” even when “triggered by 

the same conduct.” Consider a defendant who shoots a police officer during the commission of a robbery. Such conduct, according to Application Note 4(B), may warrant both 

an injury enhancement under §2B3.1(b)(3) and an official 

victim adjustment under §3A1.2 of the Sentencing Guidelines. Thus, cumulative application of enhancements is the 

“default rule ... unless a specific guideline instructs otherCase: 15-1271 Document: 39 Filed: 06/13/2016 Pages: 10
8 Nos. 15-1266 and 15-1271

wise.” United States v. Vizcarra, 668 F.3d 516, 520 (7th Cir. 

2012).

Here, the Sentencing Guidelines do not prohibit cumulative application of §3C1.1 and §3C1.3 (indeed, Marcotte cannot identify any contrary guideline), so the district court did 

not err in applying both. For the same reason, the Fifth and 

Ninth Circuits also have rejected the same double counting 

argument. Dison, 573 F.3d at 208; Rosas, 615 F.3d at 1065.

Marcotte, believing that he has been twice punished for 

the same offense, last argues that imposing an enhancement 

under §3147 and §3C1.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines violates the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment. 

But Marcotte mistakes the scope of the Clause in two ways.

First, the Supreme Court has historically found double 

jeopardy protections inapplicable to sentencing proceedings, 

refusing to construe sentence enhancements as additional 

punishments. Monge v. California, 524 U.S. 721, 728 (1998); see 

also Fitzgerald, 435 F.3d at 487 (analyzing Monge in the context of §3C1.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines). Here, §3147, as 

promulgated under §3C1.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines, 

creates a sentence enhancement. Dison, 573 F.3d at 209; Fitzgerald, 435 F.3d at 487; see generally United States v. Sturman, 

49 F.3d 1275, 1283 (7th Cir. 1995) (describing what is now

§3C1.3 as an “enhancement”). Section 3C1.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines thus falls outside the purview of the Double 

Jeopardy Clause.

Second, even if §3147 can be construed as an additional 

punishment, the Double Jeopardy Clause only forbids the 

sentencing court from prescribing greater punishment than 

Congress intended. Missouri v. Hunter, 459 U.S. 359, 365-68

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Nos. 15-1266 and 15-1271 9

(1983); Boyd v. Boughton, 798 F.3d 490, 497-98 (7th Cir. 2015). 

It does not forbid, as Marcotte assumes, Congress from authorizing multiple punishments for the same conduct in the 

same proceeding. Boyd, 798 F.3d at 497-98, 501. As explained 

above, Congress, through §3147 and §3C1.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines, permits cumulative punishments based on a 

defendant’s failure to appear while released. See Rosas, 615 

F.3d at 1065 (analyzing Missouri in the context of §3C1.3 of 

the Sentencing Guidelines, and reaching the same conclusion); Dison, 573 F.3d at 208 & n.18 (same). 

For completeness, we note the contrary views set forth by 

the dissents in Fitzgerald (4th Circuit) and Benson (6th Circuit). We do not find these compelling, however, in light of 

the plain language of 18 U.S.C. §3147 and the well-settled 

rule that the Sentencing Guidelines are, by default, cumulative, absent express language to the contrary. Underpinning 

both dissents is Simpson v. United States, 435 U.S. 6 (1978), a 

pre-Guidelines case addressing two statutes that together 

created cumulative enhancements for the crime of robbery 

with a firearm: 18 U.S.C. §§924(c) and 2113(d). Wanting to 

avoid double jeopardy concerns, the Court in Simpson applied the interpretative principle that Congress is presumed 

to have intended the specific statute to take precedence over 

the general one. In response to Simpson, Congress amended 

§924(c) to expressly permit cumulative enhancements for 

committing a crime with a firearm. See Fitzgerald, 435 F.3d at 

489 (King, J., dissenting) (discussing the Congressional history of §924(c)). No such amendments are necessary here, 

however, because Congress has already approved cumulative punishments as the “default rule” in the Sentencing 

Guidelines through Application Note 4(B) to §1B1.1. VizcarCase: 15-1271 Document: 39 Filed: 06/13/2016 Pages: 10
10 Nos. 15-1266 and 15-1271

ra, 668 F.3d at 520. So the motivating concerns in Simpson are 

not present here.

The district court did not err in imposing an enhancement under §3C1.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines.1

III

Today we become the sixth Court of Appeals to hold that 

18 U.S.C. §3147, through §3C1.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines, can enhance a sentence for the crime of failing to appear under 18 U.S.C. §3146. Accordingly, the district court’s 

sentence is AFFIRMED.

 1 Marcotte alternatively argues that the district court failed to 

properly apportion on the judgment form the 78-month sentence between the underlying offense and the enhancement, as required by Application Note 1 to §3C1.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines. Not only did 

Marcotte fail to develop this argument, thereby waiving it, see United 

States v. Alhalabi, 443 F.3d 605, 611 (7th Cir. 2006), but also any error is 

harmless. See United States v. Wilson, 966 F.2d 243, 249 (7th Cir. 1992) 

(concluding that a remand is not warranted when a mistake does not 

affect the district court’s selection of the sentence imposed).

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