Opinion ID: 544753
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sentence Comparable to the State Sentence

Text: 8 Leake first argues that since she was charged under the Assimilative Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 13, she must be sentenced to a period of time comparable to that which a state court would impose in the locale of the federal enclave which was the scene of the crime. 9 It is true, of course, that section 13 provides that those convicted of offenses charged under section 13 shall be subject to a like punishment. Thus, we have held that [the] state statute ... fixes the length of the sentence imposed by federal courts under the Assimilative Crimes Act. United States v. Smith, 574 F.2d 988, 992 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 852, 99 S.Ct. 158, 58 L.Ed.2d 156 (1978). 10 The magistrate imposed a sentence within the limits imposed by state law. The crime of forgery is what the California cases call a wobbler, that is, it is punishable as either a felony or a misdemeanor. See Cal. Penal Code Sec. 473 (West 1988). If the forgery is treated as a misdemeanor, the maximum penalty is one year. Id. Clearly the magistrate's decision to impose a one-year sentence on each count falls within the one-year maximum provided by state law. 11 Leake also argues that state law does not permit the court to impose consecutive sentences for her misdemeanors. The magistrate, however, imposed a consecutive sentence for each misdemeanor count, for a total of three years. Although the issue has not been squarely reached by the California Supreme Court, lower California courts have held that consecutive sentences for wobblers treated as misdemeanors would not be proper if the aggregate sentence would be larger than the sentence that would result if the offenses were treated as felonies. See People v. Powell, 166 Cal.App.3d Supp. 12, 14-16, 212 Cal.Rptr. 454, 455-56 (1985). Consecutive sentences for wobblers treated as misdemeanors can sometimes exceed consecutive sentences for wobblers treated as felonies because California has imposed statutory limits on consecutive sentencing for felonies but has imposed no explicit limits on consecutive sentencing for misdemeanors. Id. at 21-22, 212 Cal.Rptr. 454 (discussing California's Determinate Sentencing Law as reflected in Cal. Penal Code Sec. 1170.1 (West Supp.1990)). 12 Leake's aggregate three-year sentence does not run afoul of what would be the permissible maximum under California sentencing law. Leake concedes, and we agree, that if her offenses were considered felonies, the calculus involved in Cal. Penal Code Sec. 1170.1 would permit a three-year sentence. 4 Appellant's Brief at 14. Leake's aggregate three-year sentence for misdemeanor offenses therefore does not exceed the permissible maximum under California law. 13 Even though her sentence was within the maximum and minimum terms established by state law, Leake maintains that it was excessive, because under the state sentencing scheme she would be released after spending eighteen months in prison. She points to the fact that she pleaded guilty to two felonies in state court, and that even though she was sentenced to two three-year concurrent sentences, she was to be released in eighteen months. 14 The general rule is that [o]nce the court has applied state law to determine the applicable term of years for the sentence, the Assimilative Crimes Act does not further require adherence to state policy with reference to parole eligibility. Smith, 574 F.2d at 992. Leake does not specify the state provisions entitling her to a release, and we assume her release would occur pursuant to state correctional policies unrelated to the term of years that was imposed for her crimes. We refuse to adhere to state correctional policies because such adherence with regards to a federal prisoner creates two classes of prisoners serving in the federal prisons: Assimilative Crimes Act prisoners and other federal prisoners, a situation which is disruptive to [the federal] correctional administration. Id. Leake is not entitled to a reduction of her federal sentence pursuant to state correctional policies. 15 Finally, United States v. Bosser, 866 F.2d 315 (9th Cir.1989) does not support the proposition that Leake is entitled to a sentence no longer than eighteen months. In Bosser we concluded that state procedures allowing for deferred acceptance of guilty pleas constituted an alternative, substantive punishment for the defendant's offense. Id. at 316. Therefore, a magistrate's decision to sentence the defendant under those provisions was proper under the Assimilative Crimes Act. Id. at 318. However, Leake makes no showing that a similar deferred-acceptance rule exists in California which would entitle Leake to a release after eighteen months.