Source: http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/454/187/489791/
Timestamp: 2017-09-20 13:02:47
Document Index: 212274524

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1344', '§ 408', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 1344', '§ 408', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 4', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 2', '§ 4', '§ 3742', '§ 3582']

United States of America v. Donald James King, Appellant, 454 F.3d 187 (3d Cir. 2006) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Third Circuit › 2006 › United States of America v. Donald James King, Appellant
United States of America v. Donald James King, Appellant, 454 F.3d 187 (3d Cir. 2006)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit - 454 F.3d 187 (3d Cir. 2006)
Lesley B. Fitzgerald, Peter D. Hardy (Argued), Office of United States Attorney Philadelphia, PA.
Defendant Donald James King appeals his sentence of seventy-two months imprisonment that was imposed by the District Court following his plea of guilty to one count of bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344, and one count of use of a false social security number in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 408(a) (7) (B). King claims that the sentence is unreasonable and in violation of United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S. Ct. 738, 160 L. Ed. 2d 621 (2005), because the District Court did not follow proper procedure for imposing a sentence in excess of the range recommended by the Sentencing Guidelines (30-37 months imprisonment).1
The events giving rise to this criminal prosecution took place during the years 1998 and 1999. Appellant King is a sixty-seven year old male who engaged in what is commonly known as "identity theft"— unauthorized use of the personal information of another person for the purpose of securing loans, obtaining credit cards, and financing purchases. In carrying out this crime, King used the social security number and date of birth of another man with the same name (hereafter "Victim"). In his plea colloquy, King admitted to employing these means to engage in a laundry list of transactions, including a mortgage on his primary residence, several consumer lines of credit and credit cards resulting in defaults totaling over $14,000, and loans for the purchase of expensive consumer items, such as a home entertainment system and luxury cars.2 Some of these vehicles, which included a Mercedes, a BMW, and a Lexus, were repossessed and resold, but some were never recovered. King admitted that his activities caused losses to financial institutions of $166,000.
King was sentenced on February 25, 2005. The Booker decision was announced approximately six weeks before King's sentencing hearing. The District Court started by calculating the applicable range under the Sentencing Guidelines.3 It adopted the Presentence Report ("PSR") and the stipulation of the parties that the amount of loss for sentencing purposes was $166,000, which corresponded to a base offense level of six. U.S.S.G. § 2F1.1. A seven-level increase was applied because the loss exceeded $120,000, and a two-level increase was applied because the offense involved more than minimal planning. See U.S.S.G. § 2F1.1(b) (2) (A). Another two-level increase was applied for obstruction of justice due to King's absconding before his sentencing hearing. U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1. King's offense level was accordingly seventeen, while his criminal history category was III, leading to an applicable Guidelines range of 30-37 months imprisonment.
The Victim estimated that since then he had spent over 500 hours calling loan agencies, banks, and department stores to protest charges he never made and to clear his credit. He had been forced to change the name on his driver's license because it was repeatedly suspended due to unpaid car loans and parking tickets on cars falsely registered to him.4 He testified that he had suffered enduring anxiety and had difficulty engaging in ordinary commercial transactions because of the damage to his credit. He also testified that he feared King's activities would affect his ability to collect social security benefits.
First, I want to apologize to that Mr. King for all the problems that I may or may not have caused him from the fact of using his name. But it was never ever intended that I have, it was intended that I was going to enhance his credit, it was never intended that it was not going to pay for anything. If anything, I was going to make sure that his credit rating got enhanced far more better —
MR. KING: I never seen him. Never seen him. Maybe 20 years or so, 10 years or so, second time I've ever seen him. But like I said, and these times the credit was used for him, it was, I had gotten hopefully, so I could be, like I said enhance, to make it better, never to make it worse. And I always have tried to do something to make Mr. King's credit better, never to make it worse, never ever my intent —
The Court stated that the factors referred to required a sentence substantially higher than that called for by the Guidelines, which did not reflect the seriousness of the offenses committed by the defendant, particularly with reference to their impact on the victim. The Court further stated that the Guideline range " [did] not provide a just punishment for the defendant in view of his extensive criminal history and the impact on the victim." App. at 96. The Court concluded that a longer sentence was "necessary to protect the public from further crimes by the defendant." App. at 96.
Thereafter, the District Court sentenced King to seventy-two months imprisonment for bank fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1344, and sixty months imprisonment for use of a false social security number, 42 U.S.C. § 408(a) (7) (B), to run concurrently. It also sentenced him to five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment, and $87,035 in restitution.
The Government concedes that it would have been preferable for the District Court to have applied the "ratcheting procedure" required by Kikumura and Hickman for enhancing King's sentence on the basis of under-representation of criminal history. See Kikumura, 918 F.2d at 1098; Hickman, 991 F.2d at 1114. The Government agrees that the District Court should have ruled on its motion for an upward departure on the basis of harm to the victim. However, the Government emphasizes, King did not object in the District Court to the procedure used by the court. Specifically, King never called to the court's attention its failure to apply either the rule of Kikumura or Hickman. Because of that, it argues that the sentence should be affirmed under plain error. According to the Government, the record demonstrates that under the pre-Booker regime the District Court would have granted its motion for a five-level upward departure in offense level on the basis of harm to the victim and applied a one-level increase in criminal history category. This would have resulted in a criminal history category of IV, and an offense level of twenty-two, which would have led to a sentencing range of 63-78 months. The sentence imposed by the District Court, 72 months imprisonment, lies in the middle of this range. Accordingly, the Government concludes, King's substantial rights were not affected, and the sentence should be affirmed.
We treat the issue before us not as one of waiver but of the appropriate standard of review and agree with the Government that plain error review applies. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b); Booker, 543 U.S. at 268, 125 S. Ct. 738 (holding that ordinary prudential doctrines such as plain error review apply to sentencing appeals); United States v. Davis, 407 F.3d 162, 164 (3d Cir. 2005). Where a defendant demonstrates plain error affecting his substantial rights, we may reverse where the "fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings" were affected. United States v. Evans, 155 F.3d 245, 251 (3d Cir. 1998). An error affects substantial rights when it is prejudicial and affects the outcome of district court proceedings. Davis, 407 F.3d at 164.
It is important to note that the District Court did not characterize the final sentence it imposed as a departure. It appears that the court, having taken into account the required considerations, then left the Guideline scheme behind and chose a sentence it deemed appropriate for the reasons it set forth. We would have done little about it in the pre-Guideline era. As we stated in Kikumura, " [u]nder the old regime, sentencing discretion was essentially unreviewable." Kikumura, 918 F.2d at 1110. That period was followed by the mandatory Guidelines regime under which we exercised de novo review. In order to provide some content to our review of the reasonableness of a sentencing court's departure (either downward or upward), this court in Kikumura established the principle requiring the sentencing court to apply analogic reasoning, i.e., looking to the Guidelines for policy statements other than the one directly applicable to find a suitable analogy. See id. at 1110-14. Thereafter, in our decision in Hickman, 991 F.2d at 1114, we added the requirement of sequential ratcheting through the criminal history categories to find a category that adequately reflects the seriousness of the defendant's past criminal conduct. We required the sentencing courts to articulate these steps so that we would have a basis for our review.
If we were still under the pre-Booker mandatory Guideline scheme, the failure of the District Court to have expressly followed that approach would likely have required remand because we would have presumed prejudice. However, since Hickman and Kikumura, the Supreme Court has declared the Sentencing Guidelines to be advisory only. Booker, 543 U.S. at 259, 125 S. Ct. 738. Although sentencing courts still have a duty to consider the applicable Guidelines range under § 3553(a) (4), we have stated " [t]hat the guidelines are now advisory provides some play in the joints of the sentencing scheme." Cooper, 437 F.3d at 326 n. 2. Accordingly, we will not presume prejudice but review for plain error.
After Booker, this Court must evaluate the reasonableness of a sentence in light of the factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Cooper, 437 F.3d at 327-28. The party challenging the sentence has the burden to demonstrate unreasonableness. See id. at 332.
(1) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant, § 3553(a) (1);
(2) the need for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of the crime, promote respect for the law, provide just punishment, afford adequate deterrence, protect the public, and provide the defendant with needed education or vocational training, medical care, and other correctional treatment in the most effective manner, § 3553(a) (2);
(3) the kinds of sentences available, § 3553(a) (3);
(4) the applicable Guidelines sentence, § 3553(a) (4);
(5) the pertinent policy statements of the Sentencing Commission, § 3553(a) (5);
(6) the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities, § 3553(a) (6); and
(7) the need to provide restitution to victims, § 3553(a) (7).
We note that these factors overlap to some degree with the bases for potential Guidelines departures. For example, in this case, the Government moved to increase King's offense level on the basis of severe, non-economic harm to the victim, an aspect of the "nature and circumstances of the offense" that could also be accounted for under § 3553(a) (1). Similarly, although the District Court could have permissibly applied U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3 to increase King's sentence on the ground that his criminal history category was too low, King's criminal history is an aspect of his "history and characteristics." § 3553(a) (1). And as the District Court observed, because King had repeatedly victimized the same person, even after his convictions in both federal and state courts for related offenses, there was also a need to provide adequate deterrence and to protect the public, in particular, the Victim in this case. Section 3553(a) (2) requires consideration of the need for the sentence imposed in order to "reflect the seriousness of the offense," "afford adequate deterrence," "protect the public," and "provide just punishment." 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (2) (A)-(C).
Furthermore, as required by § 3553(a) (4), the District Court calculated a "correct guidelines range applicable to the defendant's particular circumstances," adopting the recommendations of the PSR, which calculated King's offense level as seventeen, applying several adjustments based on obstruction of justice and loss amount. Cooper, 437 F.3d at 330. We decline to hold that it was necessarily error to increase King's sentence by applying § 3553(a) instead of potentially applicable Guidelines departures. We are satisfied that the District Court considered the relevant factors in this case, and that it reasonably applied those factors to the circumstances of this case. See Cooper, 437 F.3d at 330.
That the resulting sentence was nearly double the top of the Guidelines range does not make it per se unreasonable. Id. at 331-32. Such a significant departure must be adequately supported by the record. See, e.g., United States v. Moreland, 437 F.3d 424, 434 (4th Cir. 2006); United States v. Jordan, 435 F.3d 693, 696-97 (7th Cir. 2006) ("The farther a sentence varies from the advisory guidelines range, the more compelling the judge's reasons must be."); see also Kikumura, 918 F.2d at 1110 (holding prior to Booker that the degree of departure must be reasonable). The District Court provided an adequate explanation of the sentence on the record. Cooper, 437 F.3d at 329-30. It gave extensive attention to the circumstances of King's life and offense and the harm done to King's Victim. The Victim's testimony provided a portrait of King as a career criminal who was not deterred by prosecution in state or federal courts from continuing to use the Victim's personal information for financial gain, and who failed to appear for sentencing after he pled guilty in federal court until he was apprehended once again trying to use the Victim's information. The District Court also observed King's lack of remorse and comprehension of the harm done by his actions.
Sentencing King just six weeks after Booker, the District Court was operating without guidance from this court which has not yet fleshed out how closely it will hold district courts to pre-Booker practice with respect to calculations of the Guidelines range. We have, however, cautioned against per se rules that "effectively re-institute mandatory adherence to the Guidelines." Cooper, 437 F.3d at 331 (citation omitted); see also United States v. Webb, 403 F.3d 373, 385 n. 9 (6th Cir. 2005); United States v. Mykytiuk, 415 F.3d 606, 607 (7th Cir. 2005); United States v. Talley, 431 F.3d 784, 787 (11th Cir. 2005). Booker itself gives little direction as to how closely sentencing courts are to adhere to the formerly mandatory Guidelines. See Booker, 543 U.S. at 259-60, 125 S. Ct. 738 (holding only that judges are required to "consider" the applicable sentencing range, pertinent policy statements, the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities, and other factors from § 3553(a)). In this case, we find that King's substantial rights were not affected by any error that did occur because the record demonstrates that, under the old regime, the District Court would have granted the Government's motion to depart under U.S.S.G. § 2F1.1 cmt. 11, and increased King's offense level by at least one level on its own motion under § 4A 1.3.
In considering the Government's motion to enhance King's offense level based on severe harm to the victim, the District Court stated: " [I]t seems to me that these facts are such that under the old regimen would clearly merit an upward departure, since they are facts that are not considered by the guidelines." App. at 77. The Court stated: "I will enhance his sentence because of the extensive nature of his criminal history. What would have been under the old regimen an upper departure because it fails to adequately represent the seriousness of his prior criminal history and the possibility that he will commit further crimes." App. at 78.
Because the District Court did in fact touch all the bases required, we will affirm the sentence imposed.5 We see nothing to be gained by remanding so that the District Court can articulate that which is already clear. Nevertheless, we emphasize that the sentencing courts in this Circuit should continue to follow the requirement to "consider" the Guidelines by calculating a Guidelines sentence as they would have before Booker, including formally ruling on the motions of both parties and stating on the record whether they are granting a departure and how that departure affects the Guidelines calculation, and taking into account this Circuit's pre-Booker caselaw, which continues to have advisory force. See, e.g., United States v. Hawk Wing, 433 F.3d 622, 631 (8th Cir. 2006) (stating that courts should calculate Guidelines ranges just as they would have before Booker); United States v. Crosby, 397 F.3d 103, 112 (2d Cir. 2005) ("The applicable Guidelines range is normally to be determined in the same manner as before Booker/Fanfan."). As noted earlier, the district courts must continue to follow the procedures mandated in Kikumura and Hickman before determining the appropriate sentence to be imposed.
Finally, they should observe the requirement to state adequate reasons for a sentence on the record so that this court can engage in meaningful appellate review.6
Hon. Paul R. Michel, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, sitting by designation
We have jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a)See United States v. Cooper, 437 F.3d 324, 328 (3d Cir. 2006) (holding that an unreasonable sentence is imposed in violation of the law).
The transactions in which defendant King used the identity of the Victim extended back many years before the transactions listed in the indictment. The Government's brief lists the following:
A mortgage loan for $31,050 from Associates Financial Services Co. of Delaware (AFS) taken to secure King's residence at 2647 S. Massey Street in Philadelphia. King paid this loan in full.
Two consumer lines of credit from Beneficial HFC resulting in a total loss of $6,461.
Purchase of a home entertainment system financed by Dial National Bank resulting in a defaulted loan in the amount of $1,529.
Defaulting on a revolving line of credit with First USA Bank that resulted in a $4,907 loss.
Purchase of a 1995 Mercedes S320 for $33,995 on which King made no payments, resulting in repossession and resale with a $13,296 loss to Harris Savings Bank, which extended the loan.
The Court applied the 1998 version of the Sentencing Guidelines
King pled guilty to forgery in the Court of Common Pleas again in 1999 when he was arrested for presenting the Victim's driver's license as his own in order to purchase a car. He was sentenced to eleven months, fifteen days to twenty-three months imprisonment, but immediately paroled to home detention and two years probation
Our result is consistent with that recently reached by this court in United States v. Vampire Nation (Banks), 451 F.3d 189 (3d Cir. 2006) (differentiating between traditional departures under the Guidelines and variances from the Guidelines based on Booker).
We reject King's argument that the District Court relied upon the statutorily barred ground that a lengthier term of imprisonment was necessary for rehabilitation See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(a) ("imprisonment is not an appropriate means of promoting correction and rehabilitation"). The District Court found that a shorter term of imprisonment would not provide just punishment and that a longer sentence was necessary to deter the defendant from committing further crimes. Section 3553(a) (2) (D) requires the District Court in handing down a sentence to consider the need "to provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most effective manner."