Opinion ID: 561353
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Confusion as a Rationale for Departure

Text: 9 Appellant argues that the district court erred in departing downwards based upon the confusion surrounding appellee's actual criminal history category under the guidelines. For the government, the fact that all parties involved initially believed that Sanchez' sentence would be lower justifies neither undue sympathy for appellee nor, of course, departure from the guidelines. 10 Although we agree with the government's general position, we find it irrelevant in this particular case. Departure on the basis of confusion is improper. That much is made clear in United States v. Selfa, 918 F.2d 749 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 521, 112 L.Ed.2d 532 (1990), in which we noted: 11 [U]nder the Guidelines, the district court regrettably is usually not in a position at the time of the plea to advise the defendant with any precision as to the range within which the sentence might fall. This court has therefore recently held that the provisions of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure are satisfied when the defendant is advised of the maximum statutory penalty and of the implications of sentencing under the Sentencing Guidelines. 12 918 F.2d at 752 (citing United States v. Turner, 881 F.2d 684, 687 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 199, 107 L.Ed.2d 153 (1989)). 13 But the analogy to Selfa is misplaced. Sanchez does not claim that he was misled and therefore justifiably relied upon the initial characterizations of what his sentence would be. Indeed, he does not dispute appellant's claim that a district court may not base a departure on the basis of confusion over sentencing. Rather, he points to a number of reasons provided by the district court to justify its decision. We turn to these reasons next. 14