Opinion ID: 784866
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Denial of Downward Departure (Soto-Ramírez)

Text: 228 Soto-Ramírez challenges the district court's denial of a downward departure based on his upbringing. The record contained well-documented evidence that Soto-Ramírez had suffered severe neglect and sexual abuse as a child. A denial of a downward departure is generally non-reviewable unless the lower court's failure to depart stemmed from a misapprehension of its authority under the Sentencing Guidelines. See United States v. Rivera-Rodriguez, 318 F.3d 268, 275 (1st Cir. 2003). This standard is unaffected by the PROTECT Act, which applies when the decision made is to grant a departure. 18 U.S.C. § 3742(e). Here, Soto-Ramírez argues that the district court failed to recognize that it had the power to grant a downward departure based on abuse that Soto-Ramírez suffered as a child. But the district court did acknowledge its power to depart. It expressly stated, I have [the] authority to depart because of an upbringing situation which may have affected the defendant. Accordingly, we have no jurisdiction to review its decision on this issue.