Opinion ID: 197582
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: the grounds for departure

Text: 13 The court below departed because it determined that the appellant's CHC significantly underrepresented his proclivity to commit future crimes and the seriousness of his criminal past in two ways: first, CHC III failed adequately to reflect the gravity and duration of his vicious, assaultive interspousal behavior; and second, CHC III failed adequately to reflect the cumulative impact of seven prior convictions that yielded no criminal history points. We discuss these factors seriatim. We then discuss the court's allusion to the appellant's failure effectively to pursue a treatment program for domestic violence or alcohol abuse. 14
15 The guideline that the district court invoked, U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3, permits a departure if reliable information indicates that the CHC significantly under-represents the seriousness of the defendant's criminal history or the likelihood that the defendant will commit further crimes. The guideline's text relates that such information may include, but is not limited to  the type illustrated in a series of five vignettes. Id. (emphasis supplied). The first four examples address charged or adjudicated criminal conduct, and the fifth addresses conduct which, although unadjudicated (and perhaps uncharged), is similar to the offense of conviction. 16 In contrast to these examples, the court below predicated the instant departure principally on Brewster's 17-year history of unadjudicated, uncharged domestic abuse, which it termed the most appalling part of this man's record. Judge Carter recognized that none of the illustrations contained in section 4A1.3 applied to this misconduct, as the appellant had never been charged with, or convicted of, abusive behavior, and this prior misconduct bore no similarity to the offenses of conviction. But the judge looked to the guideline's introductory language and concluded that Brewster's pervasive domestic abuse amply demonstrated the likelihood that he will commit future crimes. Brewster attacks this finding on three fronts. He maintains that the domestic abuse, in and of itself, is not a legally permissible ground for departure under section 4A1.3; that it is not a relevant consideration here; and that, in all events, the evidence of domestic violence relied upon by the sentencing court possessed too few hallmarks of trustworthiness. None of these arguments is convincing. 2
17 Emphasizing the Sentencing Commission's express invitation to consider prior similar adult criminal conduct not resulting in a criminal conviction, U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3(e) (emphasis supplied), the appellant posits that the guideline by negative implication forbids the use of dissimilar, uncharged conduct as a basis for departure. We do not agree. 18 In our judgment, the determination of whether prior criminal conduct that is both uncharged and dissimilar can ever form a basis for a criminal history departure is neither dictated nor informed by the language of section 4A1.3(e). After all, that section states explicitly that the list of five illustrations is not intended to be exhaustive. What is more, to infer that the guideline's explicit authorization to consider similar misconduct as a basis for departure precludes any consideration of dissimilar misconduct for that purpose not only would frustrate the included, but not limited to caveat that the Sentencing Commission deliberately inserted in the text of section 4A1.3, but also would run counter to a fundamental principle of departure jurisprudence: that, in the absence of an explicit proscription, courts generally should not reject categorically any factor as a potential departure predicate. See Koon, at ----, 116 S.Ct. at 2051; Dethlefs, 123 F.3d at 46; see also U.S.S.G. Ch.1, Pt. A., intro. comment. 4(b) (stating that the Sentencing Commission did not intend to limit the kinds of factors, whether or not mentioned anywhere else in the guidelines, that could constitute grounds for departure in an unusual case). Finally, construing section 4A1.3 to mean what it says comports with the Commission's emphasis on a case-by-case approach to section 4A1.3 departures, see U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3, comment. (backg'd.) (This policy statement recognizes that the criminal history score is unlikely to take into account all the variations in the seriousness of criminal history that may occur.). 19 For these reasons, we rebuffed a kindred argument in United States v. Doe, 18 F.3d 41 (1st Cir.1994). The defendant there, convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, focused on statements in the commentary to U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2 that open the door for sentencing courts to use outdated juvenile crimes similar to the offense of conviction as a departure predicate. See id. at 45-46. Drawing a negative inference from that language, Doe argued that the court could not use his uncounted, outdated, dissimilar juvenile crimes as a springboard for departure. See id. We rejected this argument, noting both that it contravened the Sentencing Commission's express intention not to limit gratuitously the kinds of factors that could constitute grounds for departure in a sufficiently atypical case, and that the guideline commentary provided no explicit instruction as to the use of uncounted dissimilar juvenile misconduct. See id. at 46. 20 Both observations are apropos here. Moreover, the fundamental lesson to be derived from Doe is that a court should not infer from inexplicit Guidelines language, or from language that authorizes use of a particular factor as a basis for departure in some cases, an absolute barrier in principle against using certain other factors as grounds for departure in other unusual circumstances. Id. at 47. We find that lesson to be instructive in the circumstances at hand. 21 Considerations of consistency also conduce to following Doe 's lead. The guidelines, while not specifically addressing the use of uncharged, dissimilar conduct as a factor in section 4A1.3 departures, explicitly provide that the touchstone of any such departure determination is that the criminal history category does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the defendant's past criminal conduct or the likelihood that the defendant will commit other crimes. U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3, p.s. Because the initial CHC determination appraises a defendant's history of deviant behavior without regard to whether his past crimes are similar in nature to the offense of conviction, we see no reason to insist that courts take an artificially narrow view and assess the CHC's adequacy through a lens that filters out prior misconduct which is dissimilar in nature to the offense of conviction, as long as that conduct, alone or in combination with other known data, involves or portends serious criminal behavior. 22 On this issue, all roads lead to Rome. Accordingly, we hold that, in an appropriate case, a criminal history departure can be based upon prior dissimilar conduct that was neither charged nor the subject of a conviction. 3 In so holding, we align ourselves with the Seventh Circuit, see United States v. Schweihs, 971 F.2d 1302, 1319 (7th Cir.1992), and note our respectful disagreement with the Second Circuit, see United States v. Chunza-Plazas, 45 F.3d 51, 56 (2d Cir.1995) (vacating an upward departure based on dissimilar criminal conduct that had not resulted in conviction and holding that a court might properly consider that conduct [under section 4A1.3(e) ] only if it is 'similar' to the crime of conviction).
23 The appellant contends, in the alternative, that the imposed sentence must be vacated because the court rested its appraisal of his past sociopathy upon information that lacked trustworthiness and did not credibly show that the conduct was meaningfully atypical. This contention is without merit. 24 We begin with bedrock. Traditional rules of evidence do not pertain in the sentencing phase, see United States v. Gonzalez-Vazquez, 34 F.3d 19, 25 (1st Cir.1994), and trial courts exercise wide discretion in deciding what information is sufficiently dependable to rely upon, see United States v. Tardiff, 969 F.2d 1283, 1287 (1st Cir.1992). Despite this latitude, the information upon which a sentencing determination is based must possess sufficient indicia of reliability to support its probable accuracy. U.S.S.G. § 6A1.3, p.s. 25 Reliability is a flexible, case-specific standard in the sentencing context, but it always is informed by considerations of due process and experiential knowledge. See United States v. Lanterman, 76 F.3d 158, 160-161 (7th Cir.1996); Tardiff, 969 F.2d at 1287. Within those wide parameters, sentencing courts may elect to embrace divers kinds of information, even hearsay evidence that has never been subjected to cross-examination. See Tardiff, 969 F.2d at 1287; United States v. Zuleta-Alvarez, 922 F.2d 33, 36 (1st Cir.1990). Moreover, factual averments contained in the PSI Report usually are deemed reliable enough to be used for sentencing purposes. See Gonzalez-Vazquez, 34 F.3d at 25; United States v. Morillo, 8 F.3d 864, 872 (1st Cir.1993) (collecting cases). 26 Here, the sentencing court relied on Mrs. Brewster's notarized statement as the principal basis for its findings anent the history of domestic abuse. In our view, the judge's determination that this statement accurately portrayed the salient events is unimpugnable. We explain briefly. 27 In the first place, Mrs. Brewster's statement was authored subject to the penalties of perjury. In the second place, the appellant virtually conceded the statement's accuracy below, 4 and failed to dispute the statement's contents in the face of the district judge's explicit warning that, if accepted as true, the statement would form part of the foundation upon which the judge would decide what sentence should be levied. Although the government must carry the devoir of persuasion in regard to facts supporting an upward departure and the accused has no obligation to offer oppugnant evidence, Brewster's refusal to disavow the government's accusations when given the opportunity to do so can itself be viewed as an indicium of the proffered information's trustworthiness. See United States v. Figaro, 935 F.2d 4, 8 (1st Cir.1991). This inference is especially compelling where, as here, the defendant also declines the court's invitation to cross-examine the declarant at the disposition hearing. See United States v. Shrader, 56 F.3d 288, 295 (1st Cir.1995). 28 Finally, a number of the allegations contained in Mrs. Brewster's statement were corroborated by other information, such as the PSI Report's description of the domestic violence incident from which the federal charges arose, the original police report, the state police interview transcripts, and the issuance of the state court protection order. Such independent corroboration is a prime indicator of reliability in the sentencing milieu. See United States v. Ponce, 51 F.3d 820, 828 (9th Cir.1995). 29 We need not tarry. On this record, it strains credulity to characterize Mrs. Brewster's account as unreliable. 5 Hence, the district court did not err in accepting--and acting upon--the information contained in the statement. See, e.g., Shrader, 56 F.3d at 294; Tardiff, 969 F.2d at 1287; Figaro, 935 F.2d at 7. 30 Before leaving the topic of factual sufficiency, we pause to discuss two related points. One concerns the question of relevancy. The appellant hints that, even if the record reliably reflects a pattern of domestic abuse, that pattern is not a fair predictor of future criminality along the lines of the offense of conviction. This suggestion, however, is no more than a recasting of the argument that prior dissimilar conduct cannot form the fundament for a section 4A1.3 departure, and we dismiss it on that basis. Section 4A1.3 permits a departure as long as the uncounted conduct evidences a general propensity to commit other or further crimes. Brewster's pervasive history of domestic violence undoubtedly presages the probability that he will continue to engage in such offensive behavior. 31 We add, moreover, that there is indeed a nexus in this case between Brewster's history of spousal abuse and his felon-in-possession offense. As Judge Carter pointed out, the discovery of the offense conduct arose directly from an incident of domestic violence, and, although the record contains no inkling that Brewster used the guns to menace his wife, we cannot fault the district judge's conclusion that the presence of guns in the home was a reasonable source of sufficient fear to discourage Mrs. Brewster from seeking outside assistance in an effort to end the unremitting abuse. 32 Finally, we must ask whether the appellant's immersion in domestic violence was sufficiently striking to distinguish him from the mine-run of offenders in CHC III, thereby warranting an upward departure. See United States v. Carrillo-Alvarez, 3 F.3d 316, 320 (9th Cir.1993). The district court described the thoroughly despicable chronicle of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse as highly unusual. We believe that the accuracy of that characterization is self-evident and that the atypicality requirement of section 4A1.3 is easily fulfilled. Phrased another way, since the appellant's placement in CHC III did not compensate at all for this markedly atypical 17-year history of grievous misconduct, an upward departure under section 4A1.3 was warranted. 33
34 The appellant also contests the second pillar underpinning the upward departure: the district court's reliance on the seven prior convictions that were excluded from the CHC calculation. Because the court did not rest its departure analysis on the pattern of protracted domestic violence alone, but on the combined effect of that pattern and the litany of uncounted convictions, we must address this assignment of error. 35 Section 4A1.3 specifically authorizes courts to consider prior uncounted convictions, see U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3(a), and an upward departure is appropriate if convictions that were excluded from the CHC calculation for reasons such as remoteness evince some significantly unusual penchant for serious criminality. United States v. Aymelek, 926 F.2d 64, 73 (1st Cir.1991). 36 Here, the uncounted convictions involved a 1977 assault with a dangerous weapon; a 1979 conviction for operating a motor vehicle so as to endanger; four convictions in 1980 (two separate larcenies, an episode of larceny by check, and an incident that involved breaking and entering into a motor vehicle); and a 1992 conviction for operating an unregistered, uninsured, and uninspected motor vehicle. Judge Carter's assessment that the seven convictions for the most part represented serious offenses cannot be gainsaid, and, when considered against the backdrop of the appellant's protracted history of spousal abuse, such convictions are sufficient to remove the offender from the mine-run of other offenders. Id. Under these circumstances, a departure is appropriate. See id. 37 Swimming upstream against this reality, the appellant asseverates that the age of these convictions dispels any notion that they indicate an increased likelihood of recidivism. This asseveration lacks force. To be sure, the appellant committed the uncounted offenses between 17 and 20 years ago. 6 But, when considered in conjunction with the counted offenses and the 17-year history of domestic abuse, they form discernible links in a long chain of persistent misconduct. Given this solid basis for a powerful inference of recidivism and for a finding that the string of uncounted convictions reflect a rather unusual proclivity for serious criminality, we detect no abuse of discretion in the lower court's reliance on the uncounted convictions. See United States v. Pratt, 73 F.3d 450, 453 (1st Cir.1996) (ratifying decision to depart upward based, inter alia, on outdated, uncounted convictions for serious dissimilar [mis]conduct); United States v. Tilley, 964 F.2d 66, 74-76 (1st Cir.1992) (similar); Aymelek, 926 F.2d at 73 (holding that a sentencing court properly relied on seven outdated convictions distinguished by their numerosity and dangerousness in considering an upward departure); see also Doe, 18 F.3d at 45 (holding that uncounted convictions for dissimilar misconduct, remote in time, can form the basis for an upward departure). 38
39 In pronouncing sentence, the district court mentioned the appellant's failure to pursue counseling for alcohol abuse and domestic violence. The appellant claims that the court erroneously employed this finding as a third factor justifying the sentence, and contests it both as a matter of law (he asserts that refusal to seek treatment cannot form the basis for a departure) and as a matter of fact (he asserts that he had begun treatment before his arrest). 40 Speaking broadly, the absence of a mitigating factor ordinarily cannot be treated as the presence of an aggravating factor, and, therefore, it might arguably be error to premise an upward departure on a finding, simpliciter, that a defendant refused to seek voluntary treatment. 7 We decline to pursue the point for two reasons. First, the record in this case, read as a whole, casts doubt upon the appellant's claim that the court used this finding as an independent basis for departing. Rather, the sentencing transcript suggests that the court considered the defendant's failure to seek help primarily as evidence that Brewster had every prospect of continuing [the violent domestic abuse] in the future and of continuing to indulg[e] in a dangerous and highly reprehensible ... course of conduct. 41 Second, to the extent--if at all--that the court blended this finding into the departure mix, any error would be harmless. When a departure rests on a combination of valid and invalid grounds, a reviewing court should uphold it as long as (1) the extent of departure is reasonable in relation to the valid grounds, (2) the exclusion of the invalid ground does not undermine the departure rationale articulated by the sentencing court, and (3) whole-record review offers an assurance that excision of the invalid ground probably would not have altered the sentence imposed. See United States v. Diaz-Bastardo, 929 F.2d 798, 800 (1st Cir.1991); see also Figaro, 935 F.2d at 7. 42 In this instance, it is readily apparent that the district court's decision to depart depended primarily on the appellant's prolonged campaign of domestic violence and secondarily on the uncounted convictions. It is equally apparent that those grounds, standing alone, are fully adequate to support the departure. What the court perceived to be the appellant's refusal to seek treatment was at most a throw-in--a lagniappe that in all likelihood did not sway, or even affect, the decision to depart. Hence, we rule that the district court's superfluous refusal to treat comments, whether or not intended as an additional ground for departure, do not undermine the sentence.