Opinion ID: 748198
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Inadequacy Of Criminal History Category

Text: 30 Finally, Ewing attacks the district court's enhancement of his criminal history category. First, he claims he did not have notice that an enhancement was possible. It is indisputable that a defendant is entitled to reasonable notice of the grounds for potential upward departure before sentencing. See Burns v. United States, 501 U.S. 129, 138, 111 S.Ct. 2182, 2187, 115 L.Ed.2d 123 (1991) (explaining that before a district court can depart upward on a ground not identified as a ground for upward departure either in the presentence report or in a prehearing submission by the Government, [Fed.R.Crim.P.] 32 requires that the district court give the parties reasonable notice that it is contemplating such a ruling). Of course, a presentence report listing specific factors that may warrant an upward departure provides adequate notice. 1 See United States v. Walker, 98 F.3d 944, 947 (7th Cir.1996), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1012, 136 L.Ed.2d 889 (1997); United States v. Johnson, 53 F.3d 831, 833-34 (7th Cir.1995). In this case, the presentence report, in a section entitled, Factors That May Warrant Departure, specifically warned Ewing of the possibility of an upward departure under § 4A1.3. Ewing had adequate notice. 31 Second, Ewing believes the enhancement was unreasonable. A court may consider imposing a sentence departing from the otherwise applicable guideline range if reliable information indicates that the defendant's 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. The Guidelines also recognize that cases may exist in which even the highest criminal history category, Category VI, is not adequate to reflect the seriousness of the defendant's criminal history. See id. 32 In this case, the sentencing court relied on three factors in departing upward: 1) Ewing's extensive number of criminal history points; 2) the number of prior sentences that the probation officer did not use in computing Ewing's criminal history category; and 3) the fact that Ewing repeatedly engaged in the same course of criminal conduct. Because each factor provides adequate support for the departure, the court did not err in adjusting Ewing's sentence upward. 33 Upward departures are appropriate where the defendant has accumulated criminal history points that far exceed the number required to place him in the highest criminal history category. United States v. McKinley, 84 F.3d 904, 911 (7th Cir.1996) (40 points); see also United States v. Glas, 957 F.2d 497 (7th Cir.1992) (39 points); United States v. Lewis, 954 F.2d 1386, 1397 (7th Cir.1992) (22 criminal history points). Criminal history category VI begins with 13 points. See U.S.S.G. Ch. 5, Pt. A. The presentencing report relied on 15 earlier convictions to compute Ewing's total of 25 points. Although the nature of the earlier convictions is more important than their sheer number, it is not erroneous for a sentencing court to elect to depart in this situation. 34 Moreover, the court used a reasonable means of calculating its departure. Section 4A1.3 instructs sentencing courts considering an upward departure to 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. Categories III, IV, and V each contain three offense levels. See U.S.S.G. Ch. 5, Pt. A. The district court added one offense level for every three of Ewing's criminal history points that exceeded 15. As we have stated previously, this methodology is reasonable and sufficiently linked to the structure of the Guidelines. McKinley, 84 F.3d at 911; see also Glas, 957 F.2d at 499; United States v. Scott, 914 F.2d 959, 965 (7th Cir.1990). 35 Also, it was proper for the sentencing judge to consider prior sentences not used in computing the criminal history category. See U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3(a). Reliance on prior convictions is appropriate in at least three situations. A trial judge may depart outside the applicable guideline range if there exists reliable information that a defendant engaged in prior similar adult conduct. See U.S.S.G. §§ 4A1.3(c), (e). [O]utdated convictions for serious offenses, even though they are offenses dissimilar to the one for which the defendant is being sentenced, are usable for purposes of making an upward departure. Walker, 98 F.3d at 947; U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2, comment. (n.8). And, even if all of the prior dissimilar convictions were not sufficiently serious, the court still could have considered them for the limited purpose of establishing the incorrigible character of the defendant's criminal propensities. Walker, 98 F.3d at 948; see also U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3. Ewing received no criminal history points for at least four older convictions. These earlier offenses included armed robbery as well as a theft conviction with facts analogous to the present conviction. As each of the earlier convictions satisfies one of these categories, the district court's reliance on them was reasonable. 36 Finally, the court correctly relied on the fact that Ewing repeatedly engaged in the same course of criminal conduct. Ewing's criminal history is replete with convictions based on stolen credit cards and checks. [I]f a defendant has been convicted for the same offense more than once, he has demonstrated the need for greater sanctions to deter him from committing the same crime again-greater sanctions than might be required for a defendant who has never been convicted of a similar offense. United States v. Schmude, 901 F.2d 555, 559 (7th Cir.1990); see also United States v. Anderson, 72 F.3d 563, 566 (7th Cir.1995), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 1558, 134 L.Ed.2d 659 (1996) (finding that previous convictions for similar crimes constituted a clear ground for a heavier sentence), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 1558, 134 L.Ed.2d 659 (1996). Prior encounters with the criminal justice system have failed to deter Ewing. His record is one of a career criminal whose primary means of support is stolen credit cards and checks. The lower court determined that additional incarceration was necessary to decrease the possibility of recidivism. See United States v. Trigg, 119 F.3d 493, 502-03 (7th Cir.1997). The district court's upward departure was a sound exercise of judicial discretion. 37 For the above reasons, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.