Opinion ID: 701778
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sentencing Recommendation

Text: 3 King contends that the government breached its promise to recommend a sentence no higher than the middle of the final applicable sentencing guideline range. At first blush this allegation seems plainly untrue: the government recommended the lowest possible sentence (absent a departure)--the statutory minimum of 180 months. 1 King argues, however, that the interplay between the guidelines and the statutory minimum turn the government's recommendation into a breach. His sentencing range, based on an adjusted offense level of 30 and a criminal history category of VI, was 168 to 210 months. The middle of this range is 189 months. Still it appears that the government fulfilled its bargain, because it recommended a sentence of 180 months. But King's argument takes one additional step. 4 At sentencing, the government stated that the middle of the range was 195 months. This number came from substituting the statutory minimum of 180 months as the bottom of the range, yielding a range of 180-210 months. King asserts that the words final applicable sentencing guideline range in the plea agreement refer to the guideline range before any statutory minimum is factored in, so the government's calculation of the middle of the range was incorrect. Again, we may ask why this dispute is material: the actual recommendation of 180 months was below the middle of the range regardless of who prevails on this point. King supplies an answer, or at least an argument. The government stated that it was recommending the statutory minimum because of King's assistance to authorities. According to King, by recommending a 180-month sentence when it thought the middle of the range was 195 months, the government implied that he deserved fifteen months' credit for his assistance. If the middle of the range was 189 months, fifteen months' credit would be 174 months, which is below the statutory minimum and would require a government motion for a departure under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3553(e). King argues that, because (1) the middle of the range is 189 months and (2) the government determined that he deserved fifteen months' credit for his assistance, the government breached the plea agreement by not moving for a departure. 5 First, we do not agree with King that the middle of range was 189 months rather than 195. Section 5G1.1 of the guidelines provides that the sentencing range shall be adjusted to take statutory minima and maxima into account. Under U.S.S.G. Sec. 5G1.1(c)(2), King's final applicable sentencing range becomes 180-210 months. Cf. United States v. Padilla, 23 F.3d 1220, 1222 n. 3 (7th Cir.1994) (when guideline range falls below statutory minimum, statutory minimum becomes guideline range under Sec. 5G1.1(b)); United States v. Hayes, 939 F.2d 509, 512 (7th Cir.1991) (statutory minimum of five years was guideline sentence under Sec. 5G1.1(b) despite original range of 21-27 months), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1042, 112 S.Ct. 896, 116 L.Ed.2d 798 (1992). Thus, the middle of his final applicable range was 195 months. 6 More fundamentally, even if the middle of range was 189 months, we do not see how the government's actions translate into a breach of the plea agreement. The prosecutor fulfilled his duty by recommending a sentence no higher than the middle of the range; whether the middle was 189 or 195 months is irrelevant. In addition, the plea agreement specifically states that the decision of whether to move for a downward departure rests in the sole discretion of the government. Even if the prosecutor felt that King deserved fifteen months' credit but recommended that he be given only nine months less than the middle of the range (which, essentially, is the argument here), we are powerless to review that decision unless the prosecution acted based on an unconstitutional motive, such as King's race or religion. See Wade v. United States, 504 U.S. 181, 185-86, 112 S.Ct. 1840, 1843-44, 118 L.Ed.2d 524 (1992). 2 King does not allege an unconstitutional motive, much less make the substantial threshold showing necessary to entitle him to an evidentiary hearing. See id. at 186, 112 S.Ct. at 1843. Of course, if the government promises during the plea negotiations to move for a downward departure, that promise may be specifically enforced. See United States v. Lewis, 896 F.2d 246, 249 (7th Cir.1990). But that was not the case here. 3 Thus, we may not review the government's decision to recommend the statutory minimum rather than move for a downward departure.