Source: http://openjurist.org/362/f3d/497/united-states-v-courtney
Timestamp: 2016-02-10 18:15:46
Document Index: 785738102

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1365', '§ 331', '§ 3', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 1', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 3']

362 F3d 497 United States v. Courtney | OpenJurist
362 F. 3d 497 - United States v. Courtney HomeFederal Reporter, Third Series362 F.3d
362 F3d 497 United States v. Courtney 362 F.3d 497
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,v.Robert Ray COURTNEY, Appellant.
No. 02-4083.
Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied May 27, 2004.
Authorities executed a search warrant at Courtney's pharmacy, and he was arrested and indicted. He pleaded guilty to eight counts of product tampering causing serious bodily injury, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1365(a)(3) (2002), and twelve counts of adulterating or misbranding a drug, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 331(k).
The district court1 made the following Sentencing Guidelines calculations. Each of the eight product-tampering convictions was placed in a single-count group because each involved a different victim. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual (USSG) § 3D1.2(b) (2000). Each single-count group carried an adjusted offense level of thirty-five: a base offense level of twenty-five, see USSG § 2N1.1(a), a four-level enhancement for causing life-threatening bodily injury, see USSG § 2N1.1(b)(1)(A), a two-level enhancement because the victims were vulnerable, see USSG § 3A1.1(b)(1), a two-level enhancement because there was a large number of vulnerable victims, see USSG § 3A1.1(b)(2), and a two-level enhancement for abuse of a position of trust and use of a special skill, see USSG § 3B1.3.
The twelve adulterating/misbranding convictions were grouped together. The group carried an adjusted offense level of twenty-four: a base offense level of six, see USSG § 2N2.1(a), an eight-level enhancement for the value of the diluted drugs, see USSG § 2F1.1(b)(1)(I), a two-level enhancement for more than minimal planning and a scheme to defraud more than one victim, see USSG § 2F1.1(b)(2), a two-level enhancement for the risk of serious bodily injury, see USSG § 2F1.1(b)(7)(A), a two-level enhancement because the victims were vulnerable, see USSG § 3A1.1(b)(1), a two-level enhancement because there was a large number of vulnerable victims, see USSG § 3A1.1(b)(2), and a two-level enhancement for abuse of a position of trust and use of a special skill, see USSG § 3B1.3.
During the pendency of Courtney's appeal, the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act of 2003 was enacted. Prior to the PROTECT Act, we would have reviewed the district court's departure under a unitary abuse-of-discretion standard. Subsequent to the PROTECT Act, we review de novo whether the factors upon which the district court relied advance the objectives set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2), are authorized under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(b), and are justified by the facts of the case. See United States v. Agee, 333 F.3d 864, 866-67 (8th Cir.2003). We may apply the new standard of review to pending appeals, see United States v. Hutman, 339 F.3d 773, 775 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1062, 124 S.Ct. 842, 157 L.Ed.2d 720 (2003), particularly when, as here, stricter scrutiny of the district court's upward departure is to the defendant's advantage. After the PROTECT Act, we continue to review the district court's factual findings for clear error and the reasonableness of a permissible departure for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Flores, 336 F.3d 760, 763 (8th Cir.2003).
The grouping rules should have been applied to these 152 offenses, along with Courtney's twenty offenses of conviction. See USSG § 1B1.2, comment. (n.3); United States v. Collar, 904 F.2d 441, 443 (8th Cir.1990). When the eight product-tampering counts in the indictment are grouped with the fifty additional product-tampering offenses against the eight victims identified in the indictment, the result is that Courtney has eight multiple-count groups rather than eight single-count groups. See USSG § 3B1.2(b). Turning to the 102 product-tampering offenses involving the twenty-six victims not identified in the indictment, these offenses should have been grouped by victim, resulting in twenty-six additional groups. See id. The grouping of Courtney's twelve adulterating/misbranding convictions into one multiple-count group would have remained the same. There would have been a total of thirty-four product-tampering groups and one adulterating/misbranding group.
The district court correctly cited the provision of the Guidelines that specifically authorizes a departure when the flat five-level increase disregards a significant number of units: "Inasmuch as the maximum increase provided in the guideline is 5 levels, departure would be warranted in the unusual case where the additional offenses resulted in a total of significantly more than 5 Units." USSG § 3D1.4, comment. (backg'd). It is a question of first impression in this circuit how many units are "significantly more than five." A survey of cases from other circuits shows how many units are significantly more than five, and how great of a departure they justify. See United States v. Wolfe, 309 F.3d 932, 935 (6th Cir.2002) (ten units justified two-level upward departure); United States v. Szabo, 176 F.3d 930, 933 (7th Cir.) (nine units justified three-level upward departure), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 912, 120 S.Ct. 262, 145 L.Ed.2d 220 (1999); United States v. MacLeod, 80 F.3d 860, 865-66, 869 (3d Cir.1996) (ten units justified two-level upward departure); United States v. Okane, 52 F.3d 828, 832-33 (10th Cir.1995) (ten units justified one-level upward departure); United States v. Pearson, 911 F.2d 186, 189-90 (9th Cir.1990) (eight units justified one-level upward departure); United States v. Chase, 894 F.2d 488, 491 (1st Cir.1990) (fifteen units justified five-level upward departure).
Another reason the district court departed upward was to account for the extreme psychological harm caused by Courtney's conduct. The district court correctly cited the provision of the Guidelines specifically authorizing such a departure: "The base offense level [for tampering with consumer products] reflects that this offense typically poses a risk of death or serious bodily injury to one or more victims; or causes, or is intended to cause, bodily injury. Where the offense... caused extreme psychological injury..., an upward departure may be warranted." USSG § 2N1.1, comment. (n.1). The district court accurately noted that Courtney's offense level had been enhanced under USSG § 2N1.1(b)(1)(A) only for causing life-threatening bodily injury, such that it would not be double-counting to depart upward on the basis of extreme psychological injury. The district court explained:
United States v. Courtney, 240 F.Supp.2d 1052, 1054 (2002).
We agree. The unobjected-to portions of the presentence report are replete with victim-impact statements that illustrate the extreme psychological harm suffered by Courtney's direct victims. A woman who received four diluted chemotherapy doses wrote, "Being diagnosed with ovarian cancer and dealing with the fact that you may not be around to see your kids grow up [is hard enough] without having to deal with someone doing this to you. The fear alone is indescribable. You wonder[,] if you would have gotten the medication you were supposed to have[,] if your cancer would have come back or not." Another woman in the same position wrote, "I have suffered worry, stress[,] and extreme anxiety concerning the recurrence of the disease after the initial period. Would the disease have `come back' if the initial treatments had been full dosage? We'll never know! I have felt intense anger and related stress from the knowledge of Courtney's deliberate wrong doing directly related to me. Will I be able to conquer this disease or have his actions reduced my odds in any fashion[?] Will my life be shortened by this crime?" A female victim who received seven diluted chemotherapy doses wrote, "Emotionally, it has affected me the most. It is a very hard thing to deal with. I lose my self control and cry when I think of Courtney — how he would take someone's life for money." A woman who received two diluted chemotherapy doses wrote, "Lots of sleepless nights. Lots of stress not knowing what [w]as done to my body. If Gemzar had been a regular chemo (not diluted)[,] I wouldn't have pancreatic cancer on my liver now."
Since this circuit has not previously considered an upward departure under USSG § 2N1.1, comment. (n.1), we have reviewed our cases dealing with other Guidelines provisions authorizing upward departures for extreme psychological injury. See, e.g., United States v. Thin Elk, 321 F.3d 704 (8th Cir.2003); United States v. Rose, 315 F.3d 956 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 538 U.S. 1067, 123 S.Ct. 2238, 155 L.Ed.2d 1124 (2003); United States v. Hampton, 260 F.3d 832 (8th Cir.2001), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 1058, 122 S.Ct. 1919, 152 L.Ed.2d 828 (2002); United States v. Lewis, 235 F.3d 394 (8th Cir.2000); United States v. Sample, 213 F.3d 1029 (8th Cir.2000); United States v. Otto, 64 F.3d 367 (8th Cir.1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1133, 116 S.Ct. 956, 133 L.Ed.2d 879 (1996); United States v. Yellow, 18 F.3d 1438 (8th Cir.1994). Having reviewed the facts and legal principles discussed in those cases, we are satisfied that in sentencing Courtney, the district court did not err by departing upward on the basis of the extreme psychological harm his victims suffered. We are further satisfied that this ground for departure, viewed alone or in conjunction with the other basis for departure discussed in section II of this opinion, justified the full extent of the district court's three-level departure. Finally, we reject Courtney's argument that the district court engaged in impermissible double-counting by enhancing his offense level on the basis that the victims were vulnerable and by departing upward on the basis that the victims suffered extreme psychological injury; these Guidelines provisions account for different kinds of harm. See generally United States v. Fortney, 357 F.3d 818, 821-22 (8th Cir.2004) (defining double-counting).
Because the presentence report overlooked the proper treatment of these 152 additional offenses, so did the district court. Although this was error, we are satisfied that it was harmless to Courtney. Given that the district court based its upward departure on an undercounted number of offenses, we have no doubt that if presented with the proper count, the court would have departed as far upward as it didSee Williams v. United States, 503 U.S. 193, 203, 112 S.Ct. 1112, 117 L.Ed.2d 341 (1992) (when district court misapplies Guidelines, remand is necessary only "if the sentence would have been different but for the district court's error").
Because the eight victims identified in the indictment were used to enhance Courtney's offense level under USSG § 3A1.1(b)(2) (large number of vulnerable victims), he argues that it would be impermissible double-counting to use the units resulting from the offenses against those victims as the basis for an upward departure under USSG § 3D1.4. We may assume without deciding that Courtney is correct because, regardless of whether it was thirty-four units or twenty-six units that went unpunished, we would conclude that either number was significantly more than five units and justified a three-level upward departure