Opinion ID: 588451
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Upward Departure from Sentencing Guidelines

Text: 13 Songer claims that his forty-five month sentence should be reduced because it exceeds the sentence range provided by the federal sentencing guidelines. The trial court determined that Songer had a total offense level of eleven and a criminal history category of six, so under the guidelines Songer could have received a sentence ranging from twenty-seven to thirty-three months in prison. Because of Songer's long criminal history, the court concluded that this sentence was too short and instead sentenced Songer under the statute to fortyfive months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. 14 On appeal, an appellate court reviews the reasonableness of the departure. 18 U.S.C. § 3742(e) (1988). This Court uses three levels of review to determine whether departure from the guidelines sentencing range is reasonable: 15 1.A district court's determination that the guidelines fail to take into account a relevant factor is reviewed de novo. 16 2.A district court's determination that such a factor exists in a particular case is reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard. 17 3.A district court's determination that the factor warrants departure and the extent of that departure are reviewed under the abuse of discretion standard. 18 See United States v. Summers, 893 F.2d 63, 66-67 (4th Cir. 1990). 19 Here, the district court determined that the guidelines did not adequately take into account Songer's excessive criminal history. Under section 4A1.3 of the sentencing guidelines, the district court may depart from the applicable sentencing range when the criminal history category does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the defendant's criminal history or where it is likely that the defendant will commit more crimes. United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual, § 4A1.3, p.s. (Nov. 1989); United States v. Wilson, 913 F.2d 136, 138-39 (4th Cir. 1990). Thus, the court correctly identified Songer's excessive criminal history as a basis for departure. 20 The district judge observed that Songer had little likelihood of reforming, because since 1973 he has engaged in a criminal pattern in which he commits a crime, is sent to jail, and, as soon as he is released, he commits more crimes. Moreover, the court noted that the way Songer stole the Mustang in this case, making key duplicates when he test drove it and then later stealing the car using the duplicate keys, was the same method he used in many of his past crimes. Thus, the district court's finding that Songer had an excessive criminal record justifying departure from the guidelines was not clearly erroneous. 21 In determining the extent of departure, the district court followed the method suggested by section 4A1.3, projecting what the sentence range would be if the guidelines fully accounted for Songer's criminal history. We find no abuse of discretion in the district court's determination that departure was warranted or in the extent of that departure.