Opinion ID: 217540
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Motion for Downward Departure/Variance

Text: Ms. Thompson did not object to the Guidelines-range computation in the PSR, but she filed a motion for downward departure or variance from that range. As relevant to this appeal, she argued that her criminal-history category over-represented the seriousness of, and her minor roles in, her previous offenses. Regarding her relative culpability, she presented the district court with a report from Dr. Ann Bortz, a clinical psychologist, diagnosing her with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severe depression. Dr. Bortz based her findings on factors including Ms. Thompson’s abandonment by her mother, sexual and -3- physical abuse as a child, substance abuse, and emotional and physical abuse by Mr. Aguilar. Ms. Thompson argued that the district court should consider her PTSD and depression, coupled with the consequences of Mr. Aguilar’s abusive and controlling relationship with her, as contributing and mitigating factors in her criminal history. According to the calculation in the PSR, she was assessed two criminal-history points each for a 2002 felony conviction for fraudulent use of identifying information and a 2004 theft-by-check conviction. 1 Her 2002 felony offense involved her attempt to obtain credit to purchase furniture using a false Social-Security number. She maintained in her motion that Mr. Aguilar was the mastermind behind that scheme and she was his minion. Ms. Thompson asserted that her 2004 conviction stemmed from the financial hardship she faced when Mr. Aguilar, who had been the family’s breadwinner, was sent to jail in 2002 after being convicted of a previous fraudulent scheme. She emphasized that the 2004 conviction was based on a bad check she wrote to her children’s daycare provider for less than $50. Ms. Thompson argued that her financial hardship also caused her 2002 felony conviction to account for two criminal-history points, rather than one. She explained that she initially received a suspended jail 1 Ms. Thompson received two points for each of these convictions because she was sentenced to jail terms of at least 60 days. See USSG § 4A1.1(b) (2009) (adding two points for each prior sentence of imprisonment of 60 days or more). -4- sentence for this felony offense, 2 but the series of bad checks she wrote after Mr. Aguilar went to prison led to the revocation of her probationary status and imposition of a one-year jail sentence. Thus, she asked the district court to take into account her financial hardship as a contributing factor to the points assessed for these two offenses and the resulting over-representation of her criminal history. Ms. Thompson argued further that the district court should deduct the two so-called “recency” points she received under USSG § 4A1.1(e) (2009), based on her commission of the instant offense within two years of her release from prison. She asked the court to take note of the Sentencing Commission’s finding, in support of a proposed amendment to the Guidelines eliminating that assessment, that consideration of the recency of a defendant’s release from prison in relation to a new offense only minimally improves the ability of a criminal-history score to predict the defendant’s risk of recidivism. See USSG supp. to app. C, amend. 742 (Nov. 1, 2010). Finally, Ms. Thompson also argued that, because her mental state made her vulnerable to Mr. Aguilar’s dominance in relation to her participation in the oil-and-gas scheme, she qualified for a downward departure on the grounds of coercion, duress, and diminished capacity. Based on these 2 Based on her original suspended jail sentence, Ms. Thompson would only have received one point for her 2002 felony false-identification conviction. See USSG §§ 4A1.1(c), 4A1.2(a)(3) & 4A1.2(c) (2009). -5- various arguments, she requested a downward departure from offense level 23 to 19, and a reduction of her criminal-history points from six to three, which would result in a criminal-history category of II. Ultimately, Ms. Thompson asked the court to sentence her to a prison term of 34 months, with home detention or community confinement substituting for half of the incarceration period. The government opposed the motion for downward departure or variance. Disputing Ms. Thompson’s claim that Mr. Aguilar forced her to commit any of her criminal offenses, the government presented evidence from sales representatives she had hired to work in Colorado Springs. They depicted the dominant role she played in implementing and directing the fraudulent oil-and-gas scheme in that office, described her personality as extremely strong and aggressive, and related that she managed her employees through fear and intimidation. The government also presented evidence that, after she parted ways with Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Thompson engaged in a new fraudulent scheme with her most recent husband, Dustin Thompson. Regarding her criminal-history category, the government argued the evidence showed that Ms. Thompson was an active participant in the false-identification scheme underlying her 2002 felony conviction. Moreover, after receiving a suspended sentence for that offense, she violated the conditions of her probation by failing to report to her probation officer, failing to pay her monthly supervision fees, and failing to perform community service—all in -6- addition to passing seven bad checks. As to financial hardship being the basis for her 2004 theft-of-check conviction, the government cited her 2001 conviction for the same offense, based on a bad check she wrote in 1999, well before Mr. Aguilar’s incarceration in 2002. The government also responded to Ms. Thompson’s request for a reduction of the two “recency” points based on the pending Guidelines amendment, noting that amendment was not yet effective, nor had it been designated for retroactive application.