Opinion ID: 744692
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Lack of Authority to Depart Downward for Aberrant Behavior

Text: 21 Pierson requested a downward departure for aberrant behavior. At his sentencing hearing, the district court stated: 22 I need to make it very clear for the record here, because I am not going to grant the motion for a downward departure because I don't think that I have the authority to do that under the facts here, that is a decision that I make for purpose of the record, consciously knowing that that decision can be reviewed by a court of appeals. 23 Sentencing Hearing, May 17, 1995, Transcript at p. 99. 24 In explaining why it believed it lacked authority to depart downward, the district court stated: [f]or a very substantial period of time, ... [Pierson] engaged in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine across the United States. Id. In the court's Memorandum of Sentencing Hearing and Report of Statement of Reasons dated May 17, 1995, the district court made the following entry: Is defendant entitled to downward departure for 'aberrant behavior' or 'totality of circumstances.' Held: no. 25 We understand the district court's decision to be equivalent to a determination that Pierson's behavior as occurring in the particular circumstances did not take [the case] outside the heartland of the applicable Guideline. Koon v. United States, 518 U.S. 81, ----, 116 S.Ct. 2035, 2051, 135 L.Ed.2d 392 (1996). We review a district court's departure decision for abuse of discretion. Id. at ---- - ----, 116 S.Ct. at 2047-48. 26 We have long recognized that where a defendant's behavior can be called aberrant, he may be eligible for a downward departure due to mitigating factors not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(b). See also United States v. Green, 105 F.3d 1321, 1323 (9th Cir.1997); United States v. Lam, 20 F.3d 999, 1003 (9th Cir.1994); United States v. Morales, 972 F.2d 1007, 1011 (9th Cir.1992); United States v. Fairless, 975 F.2d 664, 667 (9th Cir.1992). While we have not required that the behavior be a single spontaneous or thoughtless act involving no planning, we have to some extent relied on the concept of 'singularity or spontaneity.'  Green, 105 F.3d at 1323 (citing Lam, 20 F.3d at 1004). We have also placed considerable emphasis on a defendant's motivations and any surrounding extenuating circumstances. Id. 27 Thus, in United States v. Takai, 941 F.2d 738 (1991), we determined that the defendants were eligible for the aberrant behavior departure where their attempt to bribe an Immigration and Naturalization Service official to obtain green cards spanned a period of only eight days and was motivated by a desire to help friends and family members rather than obtain financial gain. Id. at 743-44. In Lam, we held that a defendant's possession of a sawed-off shotgun could constitute aberrant behavior where the gun was purchased out of concern for family safety shortly after the family had been robbed. Lam, 20 F.3d at 1005. 28 Pierson argues his behavior was aberrant because he was a hard-working, law-abiding, exemplary citizen before he became involved in the cocaine distribution conspiracy. We have held, however, that an absence of criminal history is not synonymous with aberrant behavior. See Green, 105 F.3d at 1323 (citing Takai, 941 F.2d at 743). Criminal history is taken into account by the Sentencing Guidelines. Green, 105 F.3d at 1323. Further, a defendant's exemplary life prior to his criminal involvement does not, by itself, justify a departure for aberrant behavior, United States v. Carey, 895 F.2d 318, 325 (7th Cir.1990). 29 Here, Pierson's criminal conduct reached a significant level of regularity and spanned a considerable period of time. We recently held that a district court abused its discretion by granting a downward departure for aberrant behavior where the defendant was involved for at least a few months in a significant, well planned marijuana operation for no reason other than financial gain. See Green, 105 F.3d at 1323. We have also cited with approval Carey, 895 F.2d at 325 in which the court held as a matter of law that the defendant was not entitled to a downward departure for aberrant behavior where his involvement in a check-kiting scheme spanned a period of at least fifteen months and required extensive planning and hundreds of overt acts in furtherance of the crime. See, e.g., United States v. Dickey, 924 F.2d 836, 839 (9th Cir.1991); Fairless, 975 F.2d at 667. 30 Green and Carey apply here. Pierson's participation in the cocaine distribution scheme required substantial planning and involved hundreds of overt acts spanning a period of at least eight months. We conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in holding that Pierson was not entitled to a downward departure for aberrant behavior. 31 AFFIRMED.