Opinion ID: 777749
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The district court's error affected substantial rights.

Text: 40 An error affects substantial rights if the error is prejudicial and affected the outcome of the district court proceedings. United States v. Gore, 154 F.3d 34, 47 (2d Cir.1998). The ability to claim such a violation of rights is not limited to defendants. United States v. Perkins, 108 F.3d 512, 517 (4th Cir.1997). Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 52(b), allowing plain error review, does not limit the benefit of the rule to a particular party. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b). In the words of Justice Cardozo, justice though due to the accused, is due to the accuser also. Perkins, 108 F.3d at 517 (quoting Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97, 122, 54 S.Ct. 330, 78 L.Ed. 674 (1934)). 5 The error in this case, the use of § 3D1.2(c) rather than § 3D1.2(d), decreased Gordon's total offense level by at least one, and possibly two, levels. See note 3, supra. Having grouped the counts under § 3D1.2(c), the district court then applied § 3D1.3(a), which provides that the resulting offense level for offenses grouped under § 3D1.2(c) will be the offense level for the most serious of the counts comprising the Group, i.e., the highest offense level of the counts in the Group. U.S.S.G. § 3D1.3(a). This produced a final sentencing range for Gordon of 97-121 months. Had the district court applied § 3D1.2(d) to group the tax evasion and mail fraud counts, the district court would have calculated Gordon's offense level under § 3D1.3(b), which sets the applicable offense level as the offense level corresponding to the aggregated quantity under the offense guideline that produces the highest offense level. U.S.S.G. § 3D1.3(b). This proper § 3D1.2(d) analysis would have created a sentencing range of at least 108-135 months and possibly 121-151 months. 41 The difference between a maximum possible sentence of 135 or possibly 151 months and a maximum possible sentence of 121 months is substantial, as is the difference between the 97 month minimum sentence imposed and the 108 or possibly 121 month minimum sentence that would have resulted from the correct application of the grouping provisions. Thus, the district court's application of § 3D1.2(c) rather than § 3D1.2(d) threatened the substantial rights of the government and the people of the United States that [the defendant] be sentenced correctly in accordance with the legal principles of the sentencing guidelines. United States v. Barajas-Nunez, 91 F.3d 826, 833 (6th Cir.1996). Even though the government should and could have raised the issue below, the impact of the error on this public interest requires the Court to find that the error affects substantial rights.