Opinion ID: 770726
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Downward Departure Motions

Text: 15 A district court's refusal to grant a downward departure is not appealable unless the court committed an error of law or misapprehended its power to depart. See United States v. Napoli, 179 F.3d 1, 18 (2d Cir. 1999); United States v. Fernandez, 127 F.3d 277, 282 (2d Cir. 1997). Under this standard, we find that we may not review the district court's denial of Acevedo's downward departure motions. 16 Acevedo contends that the district court erred in holding that it lacked the authority to grant a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.0 (1998) on the basis that Acevedo prevented the suicide of another inmate. The district court found that Acevedo's action was a charitable good work falling within U.S.S.G. § 5H1.11 (1998), and as such was not relevant to the determination of whether a departure was warranted. The court also explicitly stated that even assuming that Acevedo's charitable effort was a relevant criterion, his act was not so exceptional as to warrant a departure from the heartland situations covered by the Guidelines. In light of this alternative holding, which renders moot the question whether the district court misapprehended its authority to depart, the district court's denial of the motion for departure is not appealable. See Napoli, 179 F.3d at 18 (declining to review the district court's finding that it lacked the authority to depart under the Guidelines, where the district court stated that even if it had authority, it would not exercise it as a matter of discretion). 17 Acevedo also contends that the district court erred in holding that the federal government's alleged delay in commencing his prosecution and transferring him to federal custody did not warrant a downward departure. Specifically, Acevedo claims that the district court misapplied United States v. Saldana, 109 F.3d 100 (1st Cir. 1997), in denying his motion. At sentencing, the district court cited Saldana for the proposition that ordinary accidents of acceleration or delay are simply part of the criminal process, in contrast to extreme or sinister delays concocted to increase a sentence. Saldana, 109 F.3d at 104. The district court then observed that Acevedo was unable to allege that the delay in his case was either deliberate or nefarious. Because the district court's reading and application of Saldana were accurate, this claim argument also lacks merit. 18 Acevedo also raises an ineffective assistance of counsel claim in connection with this downward departure argument, contending that trial counsel should have brought to the district court's attention a Guideline provision in effect in 1995, the time when Acevedo was found in the United States. Specifically, Acevedo claims that the commentary to U.S.S.G. §5G1.3(c) (1994) supports the imposition of his federal sentence to run concurrently with his state sentence, and that if trial counsel had brought this commentary to the trial court's attention, the district court would have been more receptive to his departure motion. 19 The commentary to which Acevedo refers states that the court shall impose a consecutive sentence to the extent necessary to fashion a sentence resulting in a reasonable incremental punishment for the multiple offenses, and observes that a consecutive sentence is not required where such incremental punishment can be achieved through the imposition of a concurrent sentence. Id., application note 3. The commentary also leaves to the district court's discretion whether a downward departure is an appropriate means to achieve a reasonable incremental punishment. See id. In contrast, §5G1.3(c) of the 1998 U.S.S.G. and its accompanying application notes do not contain any language authorizing the district court to grant a downward departure in order to achieve a reasonable incremental punishment. The provision only allows the district court, at its discretion, to impose a concurrent, rather than consecutive, sentence. See id. & application notes 3-5. 20 Acevedo, however, does not suggest what a reasonable incremental punishment for the instant offense should have been, and therefore fails to demonstrate why a downward departure was warranted. Acevedo's claim is speculative, particularly in light of the district court's decision, announced after denial of his downward departure motion, to impose a federal sentence running concurrently rather than consecutively with the remainder of his state sentence. Because Acevedo has failed to show what an appropriate sentence would have been, he has not demonstrated that counsel's failure to invoke the commentary caused him prejudice. Consequently, his ineffective assistance of counsel claim on this ground also fails. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687.