Opinion ID: 588809
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The District Court's Refusal to Depart

Text: 29 Rogers contends that the district court erroneously believed itself without authority to consider a departure based on the factors present in his case. Consequently, Rogers seeks a remand to enable the district court to examine whether the circumstances warrant such action. In contrast, the government contends that the district court refused Rogers's motion on its merits and not because it perceived itself constrained to remain within the Guidelines formula. 30 After examining the record, we conclude that the basis for the district court's refusal to grant the departure is ambiguous. Yet despite this ambiguity, Judge Johnson's statements readily reveal his desire to fulfill the traditional role of a district judge in bringing compassion and common sense to the sentencing process. In the tangled wake of the Sentencing Guidelines, there is a danger that district judges will conclude in frustration that this role has been eradicated. See United States v. Concepcion, 795 F.Supp. 1262 (E.D.N.Y.1992) (There is a temptation to simply skirt these underlying concerns and entrust the task of punishment to the federal Sentencing Guidelines.); see generally Daniel J. Freed, Federal Sentencing in the Wake of the Guidelines: Unacceptable Limits on the Discretion of Sentencers, 101 Yale L.J. 1681 (1992). Indeed, the district court's statement, that the sentence imposed at the low end of the range was harsh but that Rogers must be sentenced under the guidelines, indicates the court's belief that it had no discretion to sentence below the applicable range. Where an appropriate basis for a departure is presented, but a sentencing court refuses to grant a departure under circumstances suggesting that the district court erroneously believed itself without authority to depart, remand is warranted. See Ritchey, 949 F.2d at 63. 31 We wish to be clear that on remand, we express no opinion as to whether the particular factors present in Rogers's case, in fact, warrant a downward departure. This determination properly remains within the sound discretion of the district court. See, e.g., Sturgis, 869 F.2d at 56-57. Our decision is intended only to permit the district court to exercise this discretion.