Opinion ID: 757274
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Departure for California's View of Marijuana

Text: 26 We agree with the government that the district court should not have departed, in part, on the basis of California's view of marijuana. Although it is clear after Koon that courts may not categorically be restricted from departing on any ground other than those explicitly forbidden in the guidelines, to depart on this basis in this case would be inappropriate. 27 As the government points out, California has not legalized the actions of Green--the cultivation of marijuana with the intent to sell. In any event, a state's definition of a crime is not controlling in the context of the sentencing guidelines. See Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 590-91, 110 S.Ct. 2143, 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990). Further, there is nothing unusual about the circumstances of the marijuana growing in this case. There is no argument, for example, that Green was growing the marijuana for medicinal purposes. 28 The fact that the district court relied on an impermissible factor--California's view of marijuana--in its departure decision, however, does not automatically require reversal. We will reverse only if we determine that the sentence imposed would have been different but for the district court's error. See Williams v. United States, 503 U.S. 193, 202-03, 112 S.Ct. 1112, 117 L.Ed.2d 341 (1992); see also United States v. Alba, 933 F.2d 1117, 1123 (2d Cir.1991) (when faced with both appropriate and inappropriate grounds for downward departure, appellate court should decide on a case-by-case basis whether remand for resentencing is required). In this case, it seems clear that the district court would have reached the same sentence even if it had not taken into account California's view of marijuana. The district court did not state how many levels it was departing to take into account California's view of marijuana. It is quite clear, however, that given Green's rehabilitative efforts, the district court was motivated primarily by the level of success achieved by Green in helping young people through their problems and the dedication he brought to those efforts. California's view of marijuana was not the focus of the district court's departure decision. The record suggests that the district court's reference to it was more of an offhand, stray remark than an intended sentencing consideration. We do not believe that the district court's level of departure would have been different had it not taken into account California's view of marijuana.