Opinion ID: 75555
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Christian Hansen

Text: 140 Hansen argues that the district court erred by concluding that it lacked the authority to depart under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.0. He maintains that, at a minimum, the district court was ambiguous as to whether it believed that it had the authority to grant a downward departure and that any ambiguity must be resolved in his favor. 40 141 At sentencing, Hansen argued, inter alia, that he should be granted a downward departure pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K2.0 because the factors of the case took it outside of the heartland of cases to which the guidelines apply. R13-5-8. He argued that a departure was warranted because the government agencies monitored and knew of the environmental violations, and that this situation was not where Congress intended to impose the high penalties for environmental violations. Id. at 6. After sentencing Hansen, the district judge stated that he d[id] not really find any actual basis for a departure from the guidelines, even though I might, if I had discretion, found otherwise. Id. at 52. 142 We generally may not review the merits of a district court's refusal to grant a downward departure, [but] may conduct a de novo review of a defendant's claim that the district court mistakenly believed it lacked the authority to grant such a departure. United States v. Mignott, 184 F.3d 1288, 1290 (11th Cir. 1999) (per curiam). Where the district court expresses ambivalence about its authority to depart from the guidelines, we review the record to determine the district court's understanding. See United States v. Webb, 139 F.3d 1390, 1394-95 (11th Cir. 1998) (noting that our independent review of the sentencing transcript reveals that the sentencing judge, at the very least, was bewildered and ambivalent as to whether the guidelines authorized a downward departure and that on balance, . . . the record more strongly suggests that the court believed that it was not authorized to depart downward.). If there is no indication that the district court misapprehended its authority, we assume that the sentencing court understood it had authority to depart downward. United States v. Chase, 174 F.3d 1193, 1195 (11th Cir. 1999). 143 Hansen was sentenced after Randall. During Randall's sentencing hearing, the district judge acknowledged his authority to depart. R9-9. Hansen's sentencing transcript shows that the district judge permitted extensive discussion of whether the circumstances of Hansen's case were outside the heartland of cases to which the guidelines had been applied, and that neither party argued that the district court lacked the authority to depart downward. There is nothing in the record that shows that the district court misapprehended its authority to depart downward. Therefore, we assume the sentencing court understood its discretionary authority to grant a downward departure but decided not to exercise that authority. Id. at 1195. Because the district court understood that it had the authority to depart, we are unable to review the district court's denial of Hansen's request for a downward departure. 144