Opinion ID: 758271
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Consideration of Parental Influence

Text: 10 A district court must impose a sentence within the range established by the Guidelines unless it determines 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. § 3553(b); see also United States v. Smith, 133 F.3d 737, 746-52 (10th Cir.1997), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 2306, 141 L.Ed.2d 165 (1998). Thus, a court may depart upward from the Guidelines if an aggravating circumstance is of a kind not adequately taken into consideration or if the factor is present to an usual degree.  Smith, 133 F.3d at 748; see also Koon, 116 S. Ct at 2043-45. In determining whether a circumstance was adequately taken into consideration, the court shall consider only the sentencing guidelines, policy statements, and official commentary of the Sentencing Commission. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(b). 11 Here, Mr. Forsythe argues that the district court erred in relying on his parental influence as a basis for upward departure because any such influence was already taken into account by other Guideline provisions that the district court applied to him--USSG §§ 2F1.1(b)(2) and 3B1.1(a). Section 2F1.1(b)(2) provides for increases in the offense level when the defendant engages in more than minimal planning or engages in a scheme to defraud more than one victim. Section 3B1.1(a) authorizes such increases when the defendant acts as a leader or organizer of criminal activity. The commentary accompanying USSG § 3B1.1 indicates that the sentencing court should consider the following factors: 12 the exercise of decision making authority, the nature of participation in the commission of the offense, the recruitment of accomplices, the claimed right to a larger share of the fruits of the crime, the degree of participation in planning or organizing the offense, the nature and scope of the illegal activity, and the degree of control and authority exercised over others. 13 USSG § 3B1.1 comment. (n. 4). 14 Whether parental influence is adequately taken into account under the Guidelines is a legal question, and, as a result, we need not defer to the district court's determination. See Collins, 122 F.3d at 1303. Nevertheless, upon considering the Guidelines and accompanying commentary, we agree with the district court that the use of parental influence in furtherance of a criminal enterprise may serve as a basis for upward departure. 15 We begin with the text of the applicable Guidelines. Neither of the sections under which the district court enhanced Mr. Forsythe's sentence (§§ 2F1.1(b)(2) and 3B1.1(a)) lists a parent's influence over his or her children as a factor to be taken into account in sentencing. Although the accompanying commentary to these sections does discuss a number of general factors that may be considered, it too does not specifically address the abuse of parental authority during a criminal enterprise. 16 Moreover, other provisions of the Guidelines do not expressly prohibit the consideration of parental influence in upward departure decisions. To be sure, USSG § 5H1.6 provides that [f]amily ties and responsibilities ... are not ordinarily relevant in determining whether a sentence should be outside the applicable guideline range. However, as the government observes, § 5H1.6 has been generally applied to prohibit downward departures on the basis of the family responsibilities of the defendant at the time of sentencing. See, e.g., United States v. Archuleta, 128 F.3d 1446, 1449-52 (10th Cir.1997); United States v. Rodriguez-Velarde, 127 F.3d 966, 968-69 (10th Cir.1997); United States v. Ziegler, 39 F.3d 1058, 1062 (10th Cir.1994). Additionally, § 5H1.6 is contained in the part of the Guidelines concerning specific offender characteristics. Section 5H1.6, and the accompanying provisions of part H of the Guidelines, address the relevance of certain offender characteristics to the determination of whether a sentence should be outside the applicable guideline range. USSG, part H, intro. comment. Section 5H1.6 does not address the manner in which an offense is committed. See generally Zeigler, 39 F.3d at 1062. (discussing offender characteristics set forth in part H). 17 Additionally, as the Eleventh Circuit has noted, [t]here is ample precedent for departing upward based on a defendant parent's influencing his or her children to join in criminal activity. United States v. Ledesma, 979 F.2d 816, 822 (11th Cir.1992); see also United States v. Jagim; 978 F.2d 1032, 1042 (8th Cir.1992); United States v. Porter, 924 F.2d 395, 399 (1st Cir.1991); United States v. Christopher, 923 F.2d 1545, 1556 (11th Cir.1991); United States v. Shuman, 902 F.2d 873, 876 (11th Cir.1990). Those decisions are supported by the commentary to USSG § 3B1.1. Section 3B1.1 provides that a defendant's offense level may be increased because of his or her role in the offense, and the accompanying commentary explains that the court may consider the degree of control and authority exercised over others in assessing the defendant's role. USSG § 3B1.1 comment. (n.4). Although the commentary does not mention the control and authority that a parent may exercise over his or her children, such parental influence may afford a defendant an unusual degree of authority or control, see Smith, 133 F.3d at 748, such that upward departure is warranted. 18 Accordingly, we agree with the district court that the use of parental influence to induce one's child to join in criminal activity may provide a basis for upward departure from the Guideline range of sentences. 1 19