Opinion ID: 41196
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Guilty Plea and Original Sentencing

Text: Harrison pled guilty to both firearm counts in the indictment. The Presentence Investigation Report (“PSI”) calculated a base offense level of 22, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(3), based on Harrison’s possession of a shortbarrel shotgun and one prior felony conviction for either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense. The PSI recommended a 2 level increase, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(1)(A), based on Harrison’s possession of three to seven firearms, and a 3 level reduction, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, for Harrison’s acceptance of responsibility, resulting in a total offense level of 21. The PSI calculated 17 criminal history points based on eight of Harrison’s prior convictions and 2 additional points for committing the instant offenses within two years of his release from custody, which resulted in a criminal history category of VI. Harrison’s total offense level of 21 and criminal history category of VI 3 yielded an advisory guidelines range of 77 to 96 months’ imprisonment. The PSI advised that an upward departure under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3(a)(1) for an underrepresented criminal history might be warranted because: (1) Harrison had a lengthy criminal history beginning at age 9, (2) Harrison was only 25 years old at the time of sentencing, (3) a number of Harrison’s convictions and arrests were not counted toward his 19 criminal history points, and (4) Harrison’s 19 points put him well above the required 13 for a criminal history category VI.1 Harrison did not object to the PSI’s recommended guidelines calculations, but the government did. The government argued that Harrison qualified as an armed career criminal under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) and the corresponding armed career criminal guideline, U.S.S.G. § 4B1.4, based on three of Harrison’s prior felony convictions. 1 Section 4A1.3(a)(1) states: (a) UPWARD DEPARTURES.— (1) STANDARD FOR UPWARD DEPARTURE.—If reliable information indicates that the defendant’s criminal history category substantially under-represents the seriousness of the defendant’s criminal history or the likelihood that the defendant will commit other crimes, an upward departure may be warranted. U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3(a)(1) (2007). Section 4A1.3(a)(4)(B) provides: (B) UPWARD DEPARTURES FROM CATEGORY VI.—In a case in which the court determines that the extent and nature of the defendant’s criminal history, taken together, are sufficient to warrant an upward departure from Criminal History Category VI, the court should structure the departure by moving incrementally down the sentencing table to the next higher offense level in Criminal History Category VI until it finds a guideline range appropriate to the case. U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3(a)(4)(B). 4 The district court agreed with the government and sentenced Harrison as an armed career criminal with an offense level of 30, pursuant to § 4B1.4(b)(3)(B), and a criminal history category of VI. Given the ACCA’s mandatory-minimum fifteen-year sentence, Harrison’s resulting advisory guidelines range was 180 to 210 months. The district court imposed a 210-month sentence on Count One and a concurrent 120-month sentence on Count Two. The district court filed a written Statement of Reasons, noting that the sentences were within the advisory guidelines range. Accordingly, the court left unfilled Section V, titled “departures authorized by the advisory sentencing guidelines,” and Section VI, titled “court determination for sentence outside the advisory guideline system.” The district court explained that, after considering Harrison’s “lengthy criminal convictions,” a total sentence at the high end of the range was warranted to “protect the public from further crimes of the defendant.”