Opinion ID: 153686
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: United States v. Chukwura in Doubt

Text: 24 Finally, we note that the case upon which the district court relied in ordering Mr. Phommachanh deported as a condition to supervised release has recently been called into question. The district court relied on the Eleventh Circuit's interpretation of 18 U.S.C. § 3583(d) in United States v. Chukwura, 5 F.3d 1420 (11th Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 102, 130 L.Ed.2d 51 (1994). See Rec. vol. I, doc. 81 at 3. In Chukwura, the Eleventh Circuit held that § 3583(d) authorizes district courts to order deportation as a condition of supervised release, any time a defendant is subject to deportation. Id. at 1423. However, in a subsequent Eleventh Circuit case, United States v. Oboh, 65 F.3d 900 (11th Cir.), vacated and reh'g en banc granted, 70 F.3d 87 (11th Cir.1995), both the United States and the defendant-alien requested that the court overrule Chukwura. See Oboh, 65 F.3d at 901. Controlled by the precedent of Chukwura, the Oboh court held that the district court had authority to order [the defendant-alien] deported. Id. The court explained that a panel cannot overturn one of [that] court's prior decisions, id., and that only the court sitting en banc may do so, id. at 902. Since that decision, the Eleventh Circuit has vacated the panel opinion in Oboh and has voted to rehear Oboh en banc. See United States v. Oboh, 70 F.3d 87 (11th Cir.1995); see also Xiang, 77 F.3d at 773 (recognizing that Chukwura may currently be in some doubt). 25 Having concluded that Mr. Phommachanh's sentence is illegal because the district court lacked jurisdiction to enter the sentence, we find it unnecessary to remand the case to the district court for resentencing. The district court expressed in its judgment its intent that Mr. Phommachanh's supervised release be conditioned as allowed by 18 U.S.C. § 3583(d). See Rec. vol. I, doc. 81, at 3 (ordering [t]hat the defendant be deported and remain outside the United States, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 3583(d)); see also Sanchez, 923 F.2d at 238 (amending the district court's judgment where the district court expressly directed that appellant's term of supervised release be conditioned as permitted under subsection 3583(d)). Therefore, we amend the district court's judgment, as did the courts in Xiang, 77 F.3d at 773, Quaye, 57 F.3d at 451, Ramirez, 948 F.2d at 68, and Sanchez, 923 F.2d at 238, as follows: 26 As a condition of supervised release, upon completion of his term of imprisonment the defendant is to be surrendered to a duly-authorized immigration official for deportation in accordance with the established procedures provided by the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101-1524. As a further condition of supervised release, if ordered deported, the defendant shall remain outside the United States. 27 It is so ORDERED.