Opinion ID: 689129
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Upward Departure in Criminal History Category.

Text: 19 Counsel have raised the issue whether Kassar's challenge to his term of imprisonment may be moot in light of his recent completion of that sentence. Kassar contends that his challenge is not moot, because his CHC calculation would be affected if he is ever convicted of another crime. See USSG Sec. 4A1.1(a) & (b) (imposing three CHC points for a prior sentence of more than thirteen months and two CHC points for a prior sentence of thirteen months or less but at least sixty days). We agree with Kassar that because of this collateral consequence, his challenge is not moot. See United States v. Chavez-Palacios, 30 F.3d 1290, 1293 (10th Cir.1994); United States v. Fadayini, 28 F.3d 1236, 1241 (D.C.Cir.1994); United States v. Dickey, 924 F.2d 836, 838 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 943, 112 S.Ct. 383, 116 L.Ed.2d 334 (1991). 1 20 USSG Sec. 4A1.3 permits departure from a CHC if reliable information indicates that the [CHC] does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the defendant's past criminal conduct or the likelihood that the defendant will commit other crimes. In support of his contention that the district court erroneously departed upward from CHC I to III, Kassar first argues that had the Tennessee court not departed from a base offense level of eleven on the basis of his impending deportation, it might have done so by concluding that Kassar played a minor or minimal role in the Tennessee offense. Accordingly, he contends, Judge Raggi improperly used a base offense level of eleven in ascertaining what the Tennessee sentence should have been. The government responds that there is no basis to conclude that the Tennessee court deemed Kassar to be a minor or minimal participant in the Tennessee violation, 2 and notes that the parties agreed at the Tennessee sentencing hearing that a base offense level of eleven applied. 21 Because the Tennessee sentencing hearing transcript is so brief, it is reasonable to conclude that the court's sentencing decision had been discussed with the parties off the record prior to the actual sentencing. Given that Kassar knew that the court would depart downward and sentence him to time served, he presumably had no reason to object to a finding that the appropriate base offense level was eleven, or to raise the issue whether he might qualify for relief as a minor or minimal participant. On the other hand, the offense conduct in both New York and Tennessee resulted from an identical modus operandi, on the basis of which the PSR in this case accorded Kassar a two-level enhancement for more than minimal planning, an enhancement that Kassar has conceded to be applicable to his Tennessee offense. See supra note 2. It is difficult to square this finding and concession with a claim of a minor or minimal role in the Tennessee offense. 22 In any event, Judge Raggi provided a sound alternative rationale in support of the upward departure. We review a district court's finding that a CHC does not adequately reflect the seriousness of a defendant's criminal history for clear error, see United States v. Sturgis, 869 F.2d 54, 57 (2d Cir.1989), and the scope of the upward departure for reasonableness. See United States v. Thomas, 6 F.3d 960, 967 (2d Cir.1993). Given that Kassar committed the identical crime in New York shortly after committing that crime in Tennessee, the district court was clearly entitled to conclude that he was a recidivist whose low CHC did not reflect his propensity to continue on a course of criminal activity. 23 With respect to the scope of the departure, Kassar contends that the court impermissibly leap-frogged from CHC I to III, rather than consider a departure to CHC II. He notes this circuit's rule that district courts must proceed sequentially, or step-by-step, through the CHC levels when making a multi-level departure, explaining why each level is rejected. See United States v. Deutsch, 987 F.2d 878, 886-88 (2d Cir.1993); United States v. Stevens, 985 F.2d 1175, 1185 (2d Cir.1993). More recently, however, we have called this rule into question, noting that so long as the reasons supporting a departure are fully explained, a mechanistic step-by-step procedure is not required. See United States v. Mora, 22 F.3d 409, 413 (2d Cir.1994); United States v. Harris, 13 F.3d 555, 558-59 (2d Cir.1994); Thomas, 6 F.3d at 964-67. 24 The district court's explanation in this case certainly informed Kassar of the reason for his sentence and provided an ample basis on which we can review the departure. While the district court did not explicitly state why CHC II was rejected, the reasons were implicit under both approaches taken by the court in reaching CHC III. With respect to the court's primary rationale, the CHC was justified with reference to the criminal history points that underlie it. By viewing the Tennessee sentence as it should have been, the court determined precisely what the New York sentence should be. CHC II was rejected because the proper number of points resulted in CHC III. 25 Under the alternative rationale, the court made clear its determination that Kassar's conduct demonstrated a definite propensity to commit the crime for which he had previously been convicted. The court noted his refusal to get it in terms of what [brought him] before the courts of the United States, calling him a repeated thief whose enhanced sentence was still inadequate to deal with the severity of [his] conduct. Moreover, the court stated its very strong[ ] view that Kassar's criminal history category should be enhanced because he showed no respect for the laws of this country, and indeed, has flouted them, despite being given a benefit once on the exact same criminal conduct, so that an unenhanced sentence would violate what the guidelines are really about, which is accurately measuring this conduct as compared with others who may be similarly situated. 26 Because the district court specifically, and indeed emphatically, explained the basis for its departure to CHC III, its rationale for skipping CHC II is readily apparent. Under these circumstances, the district court's proceeding directly from CHC I to III did not constitute error. Moreover, we share the district court's indignation that Kassar committed the exact same crime of which he had been so recently convicted, and hold that the scope of the upward departure was reasonable. 27