Opinion ID: 550379
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defendant's Dependent Personality Disorder

Text: 11 The district judge indicated that he imposed only one year of probation for the armed robbery count because, at least in part, the offense would not have come about except for [Russell's] dependent relationship with the co-defendant. Defendant contends that departure from the guidelines was authorized because of his dependent personality disorder, either as duress or coercion under section 5K2.12, or as a factor unconsidered by the Commission. The government argues that personality disorders like that afflicting the defendant were adequately considered by the Commission in sections 5H1.3 and 5K2.13.
12 Though departure is justified only by the existence of mitigating circumstances inadequately considered by the Commission in formulating the guidelines, the Commission has provided sentencing courts with assistance in determining what types of factors it was unable to consider adequately in setting offense levels for substantive offenses. See U.S.S.G. Sec. 5K2.0, p.s. Among those factors are coercion and duress, addressed in Sec. 5K2.12, which holds in relevant part as follows: 13 If the defendant committed the offense because of serious coercion, blackmail or duress, under circumstances not amounting to a complete defense, the court may decrease the sentence below the applicable guideline range.... Ordinarily coercion will be sufficiently serious to warrant departure only when it involves threat of physical injury, substantial damage to property or similar injury resulting from the unlawful action of a third party or from a natural emergency. The Commission considered the relevance of economic hardship and determined that personal financial difficulties and economic pressures upon a trade or business do not warrant a decrease in sentence. 14 U.S.S.G. Sec. 5K2.12, p.s. Defendant contends that departure was authorized under Sec. 5K2.12 based upon psychological coercion or duress. 15 Section 5K2.12 makes clear, however, the Commission's intention that a sentencing court ordinarily may depart on the basis of coercion and duress only when it involves a threat of physical injury, substantial damage to property or similar injury resulting from the unlawful conduct of a third party.... U.S.S.G. Sec. 5K2.12, p.s. Defendant has introduced no evidence that he was physically coerced into committing his offense or that he did so under threat of injury to his person or property, and probably [t]hat is all the guideline on coercion or duress can reasonably be interpreted to cover. United States v. Pozzy, 902 F.2d 133, 139 (1st Cir.1990), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 353, 112 L.Ed.2d 316 (1990); see also United States v. McCrary, 887 F.2d 485, 488-89 (4th Cir.1989) (finding that, absent threat of physical injury, defendant's fear of wrath of coconspirators does not justify application of Sec. 5K2.12). 16 More important, defendant has introduced no evidence that co-defendant Ramey engaged in anything more substantial than run-of-the-mill persuasion--just words and enticing, as opposed to threatening, words at that--in enlisting Russell in the crime of armed robbery, which like many crimes involved one actor leading and encouraging another. The record supports no duress or coercion upon which section 5K2.12 could apply to justify a reduction in sentence. Whether or not psychological or emotional coercion might ever be serious enough to overcome the limited reach of Sec. 5K2.12, the unexceptional conduct of co-defendant Ramey was not enough. And, we note that the district judge made no finding of coercion or duress and that words like force, compel, and threatened are conspicuously absent from the record. The district court said only that Russell was talked into this thing. 17 Defendant argues that while [Russell] was not faced with the threat of physical harm[,] he certainly perceived his situation as being virtually the same. As Dr. Most pointed out, under these circumstances, [Russell's] need to be compliant may override is [sic] own judgment. Therefore, defendant's argument does not rely on perceived threats from co-defendant Ramey, but on the defendant's reduced capacity to resist persuasion, caused by his dependent personality disorder. Reduced capacity as a mitigating factor, therefore, is considered next.
18 Russell contends that his affliction with a dependent personality disorder is a factor unconsidered by the Commission when it formulated the guidelines. But the Commission has considered the potentiality of defendants with emotional or mental problems. While we cannot say that the Commission considered each and every sort of condition, it is enough that the subject generally was considered. In section 5H1.3, the Commission stated that [m]ental and emotional conditions are not ordinarily relevant in determining whether a sentence should be outside the guidelines, except as provided in the general provisions of Chapter Five. U.S.S.G. Sec. 5H1.3, p.s. Among the relevant general provisions of Chapter Five are the section on coercion and duress, discussed supra, and section 5K2.13, covering diminished capacity. Section 5K2.13 provides as follows: 19 If the defendant committed a non-violent offense while suffering from significantly reduced mental capacity not resulting from voluntary use of drugs or other intoxicants, a lower sentence may be warranted to reflect the extent to which reduced mental capacity contributed to the commission of the offense, provided that the defendant's criminal history does not indicate a need for incarceration to protect the public. 20 U.S.S.G. Sec. 5K2.13, p.s. (emphasis added). 21 When the two sections are read together, we think that the guidelines show that the Commission considered the effect of emotional conditions on culpability and decided that ordinarily mental and emotional conditions are irrelevant to mitigate defendants' culpability, but that in extraordinary instances the conditions may be relevant--but then only if the defendant committed a nonviolent crime. See United States v. Rosen, 896 F.2d 789 (3d Cir.), reh'g denied (Mar. 21, 1990). 3 22 The crime here, armed robbery, is a crime of violence regardless of whether the weapon Russell carried into the bank was fired or even loaded: the use or threatened use of force is an element of the offense. See Gonzalez-Lopez, 911 F.2d at 548 (Application Note 1 to section 4B1.2 specifically states that the term 'crime of violence' includes the crime of robbery.... No doubt the Commission recognized that robbery by its nature involves the threat of violence.); United States v. Spedalieri, 910 F.2d 707 (10th Cir.1990); Rosen, 896 F.2d 789; United States v. Maddalena, 893 F.2d 815 (6th Cir.1989), reh'g denied (Feb. 28, 1990)). Therefore, no departure is allowed.