Opinion ID: 567977
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Untimely delivery to defendant

Text: 20 Blythe informs us that, under 18 U.S.C. § 3552(d), a presentence report must be given to the defendant and his counsel at least ten days prior to the date set for sentencing. He asserts that his receipt of the addendum to the presentence report on the day of sentencing was a denial of his due process rights under that provision. He further contends that the sentencing judge erred by failing to ask the defendant whether he had discussed both the report and the addendum with his counsel. 21 Mr. Blythe's argument goes astray at the initial point, when he omits a crucial portion of the statutory text: 22 The court shall assure that a report filed pursuant to this section is disclosed to the defendant, the counsel for the defendant, and the attorney for the Government at least ten days prior to the date set for sentencing, unless this minimum period is waived by the defendant. 23 18 U.S.C. § 3552(d) (emphasis added). The defendant may waive that period by failing to assert his rights at the appropriate time. United States v. Busche, 915 F.2d 1150, 1151 (7th Cir.1990). In this case neither Blythe nor his lawyer asked for additional time. Answering questions by the court, the defendant stated that he had looked at the presentence report and had no objection to it. Despite numerous opportunities before and during the sentencing hearing, he did not inform the court that he wanted to invoke his entitlement to the ten-day period. The burden of asserting that ten-day period is placed on the defendant rather than the judge; a defendant's silence surrenders any rights he may have had under § 3552(d). 24 By saying that the defendant may waive the 10 days in which to study the presentence report, § 3552(d) gave the defendant charge of the timing. Nothing in the text or structure of the law implies that the district court must initiate a colloquy along the lines of Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(c) to determine whether the accused understands this. Defendants therefore may surrender their right under § 3552(d) by participating in sentencing without objection. 25 Id. We find that Blythe waived his right to a ten-day review period under § 3552(d) by failing to assert it at the appropriate time. As we said in Busche, a defendant's election to participate in sentencing without objection, whether advertent or not, is conclusive. Id. 26 The court was not asked to postpone the sentencing hearing, and it did not. Was Blythe significantly prejudiced because the hearing was conducted on the same day that the addendum was filed? Certainly not. Nothing in the addendum was new; it clearly and fairly presented both parties' objections to the presentence report and offered the probation office's response. Blythe had long known that 24 was the government's recommended base level, and he had agreed to it in the plea agreement filed May 17, 1990. Furthermore, the court had before it defense counsel's written objections to the initial offense level, and heard his oral arguments on this issue at the hearing. After reviewing the transcript of the hearing, we find that the court fully accorded the defendant and his counsel an opportunity to comment upon the probation officer's determination and on other matters relating to the appropriate sentence, as required by Fed.R.Crim.P. 32. Under the circumstances herein, no miscarriage of justice can possibly be found in the court's holding of the sentencing hearing on the day that the addendum was filed. We hold that the court committed no plain error by proceeding with the sentencing. 27