Opinion ID: 555443
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Upward Departure for Riviere's Assault Conviction

Text: 102 The base offense level for violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 111 (assault on a federal marshal) is in guidelines Sec. 2A2.4(a). Because Riviere physically contacted the marshal, the base offense level of 6 was increased by 3 levels to 9. Inasmuch as his criminal history category was IV, the guidelines provided for a range of 12 to 18 months. 103 Riviere contends that the trial court erred in departing upward for his conviction on assault of a federal officer based on disruption of governmental functions. See supra note 9 for text of guidelines Sec. 5K2.7. In determining whether the district court properly departed on this basis, we must consider whether an aggravating circumstance exists here that was not adequately considered by the Commission. This court recently set forth the scope of its review for the district court's departure from the guidelines in United States v. Kikumura: 104 A district court must sentence within the applicable guideline range 'unless the court finds that there exists an aggravating or mitigating circumstance of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission in formulating the guidelines that should result in a sentence different from that described.' 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3553(b). 'This provision is mandatory.' United States v. Uca, 867 F.2d 783, 786 (3d Cir.1989). Thus, if the circumstances relied upon by the district court to justify departure were adequately considered by the Sentencing Commission, then its decision to depart must be reversed. See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3742(f)(1). Our scope of review of this question is plenary. See United States v. Ryan, 866 F.2d 604, 610 (3d Cir.1989). Of course, the circumstances relied upon must in fact exist in the case under consideration, but we are obliged to 'accept the findings of fact of the district court unless they are clearly erroneous.' 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3742(e). 105 Once we conclude that a departure is not prohibited by Sec. 3553(b), we must still determine whether the sentence imposed was reasonable, 'having regard for--(A) the factors to be considered in imposing a sentence, as set forth in [18 U.S.C. Sec. 3553(a) ]; and (B) the reasons for the imposition of the particular sentence, as stated by the district court pursuant to the provisions of section 3553(c).' 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3742(e)(3). This determination 'involves at least two subissues: whether the factors relied on are appropriate; and whether the degree of departure was appropriate.' Ryan, 866 F.2d at 610. At this stage of the inquiry, our scope of review is deferential. See id. 106 Kikumura, 918 F.2d at 1098 (omitting footnotes). 107 With respect to this departure, the district court's factual determination, above quoted, that Riviere's assault of the marshal required five marshals to transport him to the airport is clearly erroneous. Five marshals were transporting Riviere when the assault occurred on October 25, 1989, and therefore Riviere was originally charged with five counts of assault of a federal marshal. Thus, if five marshals were required to transport him at a later date, it did not disrupt government functions. Rather, the marshals were performing the same function as when the assault occurred. Accordingly, this factual predicate for disruption of governmental functions is clearly erroneous. 108 However, the district court also stated that [the marshals] could not take him on a plane that had been arranged for his transport. The Marshals had to charter a plane in order to take him. App. at 164. To determine whether this fact, standing alone, constitutes a significant disruption of governmental function sufficient to warrant departure from the guidelines requires a plenary review of the underlying policies and case law. 109 Guidelines Sec. 5K2.7 sets forth the policy underlying departure for disruption of governmental functions that unless the circumstances are unusual the guidelines will reflect the appropriate punishment where interference with a government function is inherent in the offense of conviction. Additionally, the general policy statement on grounds for departure, guidelines Sec. 5K2.0, states that, where the disruption of governmental functions is inherent in the offense, the disruption of a governmental function ... would have to be quite serious to warrant departure from the guidelines. Guidelines Sec. 5K2.0 (emphasis added). 110 At least one court has held that a departure based on disruption of governmental functions is inappropriate when, in fact, the government was performing exactly as it was supposed to. United States v. Singleton, 917 F.2d 411, 414 (9th Cir.1990). In Singleton, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the defendant's sentence because the district court improperly departed upward based in part on disruption of governmental function. Id. at 415. The defendant had escaped from prison and eluded a police roadblock in November 1987. Id. at 412. At that time, an officer found a loaded revolver in a backyard through which the defendant had fled. Id. In March 1988, the defendant forced his way past a state trooper who had stopped the truck in which he was a passenger, injuring the officer in the process. Id. He then fled to a nearby field, where he was later captured. Id. He was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon. Id. 111 The court of appeals noted that the district court conclusorily departed upward based on disruption of governmental function and did not set forth the facts that supported such a departure. Id. at 414. Searching the record, the appellate court concluded that the defendant had caused police to engage in two searches; first, in November 1987, and second, in March 1988. Id. The court rejected the government's assumption that a police department's normal function did not include searching for criminals. Id. It found that the case did not present a situation in which a criminal diverted a government employee away from that employee's normal responsibilities. id. The court discussed United States v. Garcia, 900 F.2d 45, 48-49 (5th Cir.1990) (over 700 pieces of mail stolen and some destroyed by defendant), 21 which it concluded was distinguishable because the defendant's offense in Garcia was so extensive that it caused more disruption than inherent in the offense. 917 F.2d at 414. 112 Other cases in which courts departed based on disruption of governmental function are instructive as to the degree of disruption contemplated by the guidelines. In United States v. Murillo, 902 F.2d 1169 (5th Cir.1990), the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the district court's departure on this basis for the defendant's conviction for immigration laws violations where the district court found that the integrity of the amnesty system in the Eastern District of Louisiana [was] severely compromised because of the illegal acts of the defendant. Id. at 1174. The defendant was in the business of selling false documents to countless illegal aliens and providing for their transportation. Id. at 1171. 113 In United States v. Burns, 893 F.2d 1343 (D.C.Cir.), cert. granted, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 3270, 111 L.Ed.2d 780 (1990), the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that departure for disruption of governmental function was appropriate for convictions of theft of government funds because the defendant, a government employee, diverted government resources and used federal mechanisms to perpetrate his crimes. 893 F.2d at 1347. Over the course of six years, the defendant had used his position as a supervisor in a federal agency to authorize payments of unused travel funds which he then diverted to his own use. Id. at 1344. The court explained that the defendant's manipulation of the agency's procurement apparatus, which required the unwitting assistance of many government employees who were diverted from their legitimate tasks, was readily distinguishable from crimes involving basic theft of government property, such as stealing supplies. Id. at 1347. 114 Based on the language and policy of guidelines Sec. 5K2.7, Riviere's assault of the marshal clearly falls short of the threshold required for departure for disruption of governmental function. Assault of a federal marshal inherently disrupts a governmental function because it interferes with the marshal's performance of his or her duties; thus, the disruption of the marshals' ordinary activity would have to be quite serious to warrant departure from the guidelines. Guidelines Sec. 5K2.0. The policy underlying the rule contemplates a significant disruption of governmental function; however, rescheduling Riviere's transportation to Puerto Rico was a one-time effort by the marshal's office in which the marshals were performing their usual functions, that is, arranging the transportation of a convicted criminal. That the marshals had to repeat their task is neither unusual nor significant because an assault on a marshal during transportation of a prisoner is likely to require that other arrangements be made, for example, postponing the trip or increasing the number of marshals accompanying the prisoner. As in Singleton, the amount of resources to devote to this job was a decision controlled entirely by the marshal's office. Singleton, 917 F.2d at 414. This case simply does not rise to the level of one which, in our words in Kikumura, directly obstructs or impedes the normal operation of government. 918 F.2d at 1084. Certainly if the marshals had from the start considered Riviere to be so dangerous that his transportation required a private plane for the flight to Puerto Rico and Riviere fully cooperated, no departure would be possible. That the marshals made such arrangements after the assault, an event which in this case did require the marshals to make alternative arrangements, does not transform the task into a significant disruption of governmental function. 115 Even if the disruption were not inherent in the offense of assaulting a marshal, we find that the disruption here was not of the nature or kind for which the Commission intended an upward departure. The degree of disruption here does not compare to the six-year long pattern of embezzlement in Burns in which the defendant used government employees to perpetrate his crime. Burns, 893 F.2d at 1347. Likewise, Riviere was not in the business of assaulting federal officers. See Murillo, 902 F.2d at 1174. The disruption here was of short duration and was not a continuing pattern of conduct. Garcia is also distinguishable based on the degree of disruption; the postal inspector in Garcia testified that he had never seen such a large amount of mail stolen in twenty years. Garcia, 900 F.2d at 49. 116 We note that the guidelines for the offense supports our interpretation. Assault of a federal marshal is an independent offense punishable under the guidelines. See guidelines Sec. 2A2.4. The application notes to this section provide that the base offense level reflects the fact that the victim was a governmental officer performing official duties. Id., application note 1. It continues that the base offense level does not assume any significant disruption of governmental functions. Id., application note 3 (emphasis added). Inasmuch as the guidelines require a significant disruption of governmental function to warrant departure, Riviere's conduct does not rise to the level of an aggravating circumstance of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission in formulating the guidelines. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3553(b). Because the circumstances relied on by the district court were adequately considered by the Commission, its decision to depart on the basis of disruption of governmental function must be reversed. See Kikumura, 918 F.2d at 1098; 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3742(f)(1). 117