Opinion ID: 2828566
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: finding the applicable guideline range.

Text: See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 1B1.2 (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 2012) (explaining the process for determining the applicable guideline). The district court should have begun by identifying the charge as one involving conspiracy to steal funds. In the superseding indictment, Mr. Kupfer was charged with two types of conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 371: (1) to steal federal money in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641, and (2) to defraud the federal government. R., vol. I, at 11–20 (Count 1). But the court instructed the jury only on the first mistakenly relied on trial evidence to select the offense guideline. As we explain, selection of the offense guideline entails a three-step process involving legal determinations rather than factual findings. 11 We do not necessarily prescribe this three-step process in every case. In our case, however, these three steps are necessary for the court to identify the offense guideline based on the indictment and jury instructions. -21- type of conspiracy: to steal federal money in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641. The jury was never instructed on the government’s fraud theory. Thus, we know that Mr. Kupfer was ultimately convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 641 for conspiracy to steal federal money. When assessing a conspiracy conviction, the sentencing guidelines instruct courts to choose the guideline provision that best fits the substantive offense underlying the conspiracy or use the general conspiracy guideline. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual §§ 1B1.2, 2X1.1 (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 2012). Here, the substantive offense involves a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641. Thus, we turn to the statutory index to determine the guideline provision for § 641. In the guidelines’ statutory index, § 641 is paired with two possible guidelines: (1) § 2B1.5 and (2) § 2B1.1. The first possibility (§ 2B1.5) involves stealing or damaging cultural heritage and paleontological resources. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2B1.5 (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 2012). That provision is obviously inapplicable to our facts. The second option (§ 2B1.1) is a general provision covering theft, which fits the conspiracy to steal federal money. Thus, § 2B1.1 provides the applicable offense guideline. -22- The government disagrees, arguing that the applicable offense guideline is § 2C1.1. To get to § 2C1.1, the government points out that the conspiracy was charged under 18 U.S.C. § 371. Section 371 appears in the statutory index and is paired with multiple guidelines. Two of these are § 2X1.1 and § 2C1.1. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual app. A, at 537 (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 2012). The government insists that of these guidelines, § 2C1.1 presents the closest fit. 12 When more than one guideline section is listed, the statutory index instructs the court to “use the guideline most appropriate for the offense conduct charged in the count of which the defendant was convicted.” Id., app. A, at 532. When the conviction involves a conspiracy, the court must “refer to § 2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy) as well as the guideline referenced in the Statutory Index for the substantive offense.” Id. § 1B1.2(a). Section 2X1.1 is a general catch-all provision that instructs courts to apply a more specific guideline section when a conspiracy is expressly covered by that section. Id. § 2X1.1(c)(1). According to the government, the conspiracy is expressly covered by § 2C1.1. We disagree. 12 The government acknowledges that the other possible guideline provisions listed in the statutory index (under 18 U.S.C. § 371) do not apply. See Appellee’s Br. at 32. -23- To determine whether § 2C1.1 applies, we must determine how we go about selecting the applicable guideline section. Mr. Kupfer argues that we simply compare ● the charge in the indictment that resulted in the conviction and ● the corresponding provision in the guidelines’ statutory index. The government argues that we should also consider the facts elicited at the trial about the nature of the charged conspiracy. In our view, however, that argument is foreclosed by a 2000 amendment to the sentencing guidelines (Amendment 591). Prior to this amendment, the application notes suggested that the court could often select the offense of conviction based on the offender’s actual conduct. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 1B1.2 App. Note 3 (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 1999). In Amendment 591, the Sentencing Commission deleted the application note to clarify that the defendant’s actual conduct bears on “relevant conduct,” which comes into play only after the court selects the offense of conviction. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual, App. C (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n Supp. 2000); see United States v. Moreno, 421 F.3d 1217, 1219 (11th Cir. 2005) (per curiam) (“Amendment 591 requires that the initial selection of the offense guideline be -24- based only on the statute or offense of conviction rather than on judicial findings of actual conduct not made by the jury.”). The district court used the pre-2000 method when selecting the offense of conviction. Instead of focusing solely on the charged offense, as Amendment 591 requires, the district court relied on the trial evidence to identify the offense of conviction. In relying on the trial evidence, the court found that (1) the evidence had shown that the conspiracy involved fraud against the federal government and (2) the conspiracy included participation by New Mexico’s Secretary of State, an elected official. Based on these findings, the court characterized the conspiracy as one involving fraud and participation by a public official. With this characterization, the court concluded that the offense of conviction triggered § 2C1.1. Mr. Kupfer argues the court erred by considering these facts when selecting the applicable provision. We agree. Under Amendment 591, a district court may consider other relevant conduct later in the guideline calculation process, but not when selecting the offense of conviction. See United States v. Boney, 769 F.3d 153, 161–62 (3d Cir. 2014) (“[T]he Guidelines Manual makes clear that the sentencing court must select the ‘most appropriate’ guideline based on the offense charged in the indictment, not the court’s perception of the facts of the case -25- presented at trial.”), cert. denied, __ U.S. __, 135 S. Ct. 1003 (2015); United States v. Almeida, 710 F.3d 437, 441 (1st Cir. 2013) (“[W]hen selecting the ‘most appropriate’ guideline, the sentencing court should look to the conduct alleged in the indictment, and not to uncharged conduct described in trial testimony.”); United States v. Aquino, 555 F.3d 124, 129 (3d Cir. 2009) (“[W]e may consider only offense of conviction conduct, not all relevant conduct, at Step One.”); see also Thomas W. Hutchison, et al., Fed. Sent. L. & Prac. § 1B1.3, Authors’ comment 2 (2015 ed.) (stating that the offense guideline is based on the offense of conviction, not relevant conduct). The district court determined that § 2C1.1 was appropriate only by examining the trial evidence in addition to the indictment and jury instructions. At trial, the government theorized that Mr. Kupfer and Dr. Gutierrez had conspired with the New Mexico Secretary of State. Because the Secretary of State was a public official, the court thought § 2C1.1 would apply. But Mr. Kupfer would have been guilty even if the Secretary of State had been blameless. See United States v. Huizar-Velazquez, 720 F.3d 1189, 1192 (9th Cir. 2013) (holding that § 2C1.1 did not provide the correct guideline because the crime -26- involved a scheme to trick the government out of its money rather than to corrupt government officials). 13 Because § 2C1.1 does not expressly cover the offense as charged, § 2X1.1 would apply if we were to focus on the conspiracy charge under 18 U.S.C. § 371. Because § 2X1.1 is a general conspiracy guideline, the court calculates the base offense level by referring to the guideline for the underlying substantive offense that was the object of the conspiracy. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2X1.1(a) (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 2012). As discussed above, § 2B1.1 appears in the statutory index and fits the substantive offense that was the objective of the conspiracy (violation of 18 13 Mr. Kupfer relies on United States v. Neilson, 721 F.3d 1185 (10th Cir. 2013). This reliance is misguided. As Mr. Kupfer points out, the Neilson panel did choose the offense guideline based in part on the defendant’s actual conduct. Neilson, 721 F.3d at 1188-89. But there the defendant pleaded guilty and admitted his conduct in connection with his guilty plea. Id. at 1186-87. Even after adoption of Amendment 591, the guidelines have provided a narrow exception to the general rule that requires selection of the offense of conviction based on the offense that was charged in the indictment and that was the basis for the finding of guilt. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 1B1.2(a) (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 2012). This exception involves guilty pleas. When a defendant pleads guilty and stipulates to a “more serious offense than the offense of conviction,” the court must use the offense guideline applicable to the stipulated offense. Id. This exception was applied in Neilson because there the defendant pleaded guilty. Neilson, 721 F.3d at 1186-87. Mr. Kupfer did not plead guilty, and this exception does not apply here. -27- U.S.C. § 641). See id., app. A., at 539. Thus, if we were to focus on the charge under 18 U.S.C. § 371, we would still need to apply § 2B1.1 for the offense guideline. When we apply § 2B1.1, we obtain a guideline range of 78–97 months. See R., vol. VIII, at 3254 (the district court’s acknowledgment that the base-offense level would have been 28 under § 2X1.1). The district court mistakenly used § 2C1.1 as the offense of conviction, which led to a guideline range of 121–151 months. See id. at 3258 (concluding that the base-offense level was 32 based on § 2C1.1). That error requires reversal. -28- B. Obstruction of Justice Enhancement The district court made a second sentencing error, this one on the calculation of the total offense level for the tax evasion counts. In reaching that guideline, the court used an enhanced guideline on the ground that Mr. Kupfer had obstructed justice by failing to reveal his under-reporting of income. The parties agree that this enhancement constituted error. We too agree, for we have held that enhancement for obstruction of justice is improper based on a defendant’s failure to disclose his own crime. See United States v. Kupfer (Elizabeth), __ F.3d __, 2015 WL 4081108, at  (10th Cir. July 7, 2015) (discussing the issue in connection with the obstruction of justice enhancement for Ms. Kupfer’s tax-evasion case). The parties also agree that this error became prejudicial once we concluded that Mr. Kupfer’s total offense level should have been 28 rather than 32. Oral Arg. at 18:57–19:49. 14 Thus, the enhancement for obstruction of justice constitutes reversible error. 14 The prejudice arises because of the corresponding adjustment to the offense guideline under the grouping rules. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual §§ 3D1.1–3D1.5 (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 2012). -29-