Opinion ID: 198841
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Nai Fook Li and Yiu Ming Kwan

Text: Like Hui Lin, the other land-based appellants, Li and Kwan, claim that the district court erred in finding that the actions of the -17- crew and the conditions aboard the XING DA were reasonably foreseeable to them. Again, we review those findings for clear error. See Mocciola, 891 F.2d at 16. Li and Kwan claim that the mere request for a departure is inconsistent with the notion that they could reasonably have foreseen what took place aboard the XING DA. They argue first that it is the very atypicality of such conditions that allows for an upward departure by taking this case outside the heartland of § 2L1.1, and second that these atypical conditions would not be foreseen by a defendant simply because he or she committed the crime of alien smuggling. Li and Kwan claim that they served only as go betweens and translators for Hui Lin and Agents Rendon and Cox. They argue that this role provided them only with the information expressed during the stateside negotiations, which was not sufficient to attribute to them the knowledge or foresight of what would occur during the voyage. The government responds with several arguments. First, it contends that Li and Kwan were more than just interpreters. According to Agent Rendon, it was Kwan alone who initially approached him about bringing approximately 100 aliens into the United States. Kwan later introduced Agent Rendon to Hui Lin, participated in all meetings with the agents, and negotiated the price with the agents. During the taped negotiations, Kwan spoke of their previous experience in smuggling aliens. After the XING DA left China, Kwan also provided Agent Rendon -18- with updates regarding the voyage. Nai Fook Li attended all but one of the meetings with the agents. At one of the meetings, Li told the agents that the aliens would be kept together in the United States until appellants paid the balance due them for their offloading services. Li gave Agent Cox the XING DA's current coordinates and delivered to Rendon $5000 of the down payment. We thus agree with the district court that Li and Kwan participated in the substance of the discussions and were more than mere interpreters. The government also argues that Li and Kwan had reason to know that the conditions aboard the XING DA would be grim. It stresses that the entire enterprise was profit driven, and that the coconspirators were therefore likely to limit the provisions and amenities provided to the passengers. As to the offloading vessel, Kwan inspected it himself, so he knew that approximately 100 aliens would be ferried into the United States in the hold of a tiny fishing boat with inadequate facilities. Both Li and Kwan were present when Hui Lin stated that the aliens would have to cope with the lack of space by foregoing sleep for two days. Li and Kwan were also present when Hui Lin discussed the seven or eight enforcers who would control the aliens aboard both vessels. On September 23, 1996, Li himself told the agents that eight men would be on board the ship to control the passengers. Li and Kwan were also present when Agent Rendon was told that the aliens would board the fishing boat by jumping from the XING -19- DA. Later, Agent Rendon informed Hui Lin, Nai Fook Li, and Yiu Ming Kwan that there would not be enough life jackets for the passengers. On September 23, 1996, Kwan told Rendon that only a little bit of food was necessary on the offloading boat. After reviewing this evidence, we cannot fault the district court's conclusion that the actions of the crew and the conditions of the ship were either known by or foreseeable to Li and Kwan, and we certainly do not find this conclusion to be clearly erroneous. The district court could properly have inferred from their participation in the negotiations with Rendon and his associates that Li and Kwan knew full well what the other members of the conspiracy were planning, and could well have foreseen that some level of inhumane treatment, dangerous conditions, or bodily injury would attend the trip. Therefore, the upward departures were appropriate. -20- D. Comparative Degree of Departures Given to Nai Fook Li and Yiu Ming Kwan Closely related to Li and Kwan's argument that they should not have been given this upward departure is their contention that the district court erred in applying a harsher upward departure to them than was applied to their five more culpable co-defendants. We review the extent of an upward departure for abuse of discretion, using the yardstick of reasonableness to determine whether the degree of departure was appropriate. See Brewster, 127 F.3d at 30-31. Li and Kwan complain that the inexplicably more severe degree of upward departure imposed on them is in conflict with established law and the purposes of the sentencing guidelines. They argue that the grounds for departure for each of the seven codefendants were identical and that although they were the defendants least culpable with respect to these inhumane conditions, they received a disproportionately harsh degree of upward departure. Li and Kwan each received upward departures to sentences of 72 months,5 which correspond to offense levels of 26 or 27. From this, Li and Kwan subtract their total offense level of 14 to determine that they received an upward departure equivalent to 12-13 offense levels. By contrast, Li and Kwan claim that the other defendants received upward 5Kwan was actually sentenced to only 36 months, after receiving a § 5K1.1 downward departure for substantial cooperation with the government. -21- departures equivalent to enhancements of only 9-10 levels (Hui Lin and Mao Bing Mu); 10-11 levels (Ju Lin and Sang Li); and 11-12 levels (Ben Lin). Li and Kwan contend that, at worst, the conditions and treatment of the aliens were only reasonably foreseeable to them, and that there was no evidence that they had any hand in creating those conditions or participating in that treatment. Therefore, they argue that, if anything, they should have received lesser degrees of departure, rather than the greater comparative departure they claim to have received. However, this analysis is flawed because appellants mistakenly utilize their total offense levels as the starting point for calculating the extent of their departures. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2)(B)(ii), the mandatory minimum sentence for a first or second offense of bringing in an alien for the purpose of private financial gain is three years. Appellants agree that this mandatory minimum applies to their convictions. Sentencing Guideline § 5G1.1(b) provides that, where a statutorily required minimum sentence is greater than the maximum of the applicable guideline range, the mandatory minimum sentence shall be the guideline sentence. See U.S.S.G § 5G1.1(b). The Commentary to that section gives an example: if the applicable guideline range is 41-51 months and there is a mandatory minimum of 60 months, the required sentence is 60 months and any sentence greater than that would be a guideline departure. This makes it clear that the proper starting point from which a departure is to be subtracted or to -22- which it must be added is the greater of the guideline range or the mandatory minimum. Cf. United States v. Hayes, 5 F.3d 292, 295 (7th Cir. 1993) (holding that the district court did not act improperly in departing downward from a starting point of the mandatory minimum). It is evident that the district court calculated appellants' sentences in this proper manner. It first determined that the total offense level for Li and Kwan was 14, which carries a guideline range of 15-21 months for defendants in Criminal History Category I. Because this range is obviously lower than the applicable 36-month mandatory minimum, the court properly adjusted the guideline range to a range of 36 to 36 months before applying any upward or downward departures. It is from this range that Li and Kwan's upward departures must be measured. When the upward departures given to Li and Kwan are calculated from the proper starting point -- the 36-month mandatory minimum -- it becomes evident that Li and Kwan actually received smaller upward departures than any other appellant. A 36-month sentence corresponds to an offense level of 19 or 20, based on Criminal History Category I. Therefore, Li and Kwan received an upward departure of seven levels. By comparison, Ju and Hui Lin received departures of eight levels, Mao Bing Mu received a departure of 9-10 levels, Sang Li received a departure of 10-11 levels, and Ben Lin received a departure of 11-12 levels. These calculations better -23- reflect the magnitude of the departures and clearly defeat Li and Kwan's claim that they received inexplicably more severe departures than their co-defendants. Nevertheless, Li and Kwan argue that, in imposing upward departures on identical grounds, the court must maintain the vertical separation of sentences that the guidelines calculations yield. In a context such as this one, in which statutory mandatory minimum sentences compress much of that vertical separation, appellants' argument is essentially that the court should re-create much of that vertical separation in imposing the upward departures. This would require granting appellants a substantially less severe upward departure than their co-defendants, despite having the same basis for the departure. Doing so would provide the co-defendants with exactly the same disproportionality argument appellants raise here. For obvious reasons, this cannot be correct. IV. Six-Level Adjustment to Appellants' Offense Level Because the Offense Involved the Smuggling of 100 or More Aliens All seven appellants argue that the district court erred in imposing a six-level increase to their offense levels because more than 100 aliens were involved in their crime. Appellants argue that the district court should have instead imposed a four-level increase because 25-99 aliens were involved. We review for clear error the -24- district court's factual finding at sentencing that more than 100 aliens were involved. See Mocciola, 891 F.2d at 16. The applicable version of Guideline § 2L1.1(b)(2) states that if the offense involved the smuggling, transporting, or harboring of 100 or more unlawful aliens, the sentencing court should enhance the defendant's offense level by six levels. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.1(b)(2)(C). Application Note 1 to that section states that in arriving at the number of aliens the defendant may not be included. Appellants argue that several of the passengers other than the four shipboard defendants can properly be characterized as participants in the conspiracy and therefore should be excluded. However, they cite no authority for the proposition that coconspirators who are not co-defendants are to be excluded from the calculation.6 Instead, appellants argue that the status of the aliens as co-conspirators means that they were not smuggled into the United States for profit. The problem with appellants' argument is that § 2L1.1(b)(2)(C) does not require that each of the 100 or more aliens be smuggled for profit. The for profit definition of Application Note 1 refers to subsection 2L1.1(b)(1), which provides a three-level 6In fact, the government offers a strong argument that even codefendants need not be excluded from the calculation. Application Note 1 to Section 2L1.1(b) states only that the number of aliens does not include the defendant; it does not state that all co-defendants must also be excluded. -25- decrease if the offense is committed other than for profit. Subsection 2L1.1(b)(2)(C), the applicable subsection here, prescribes a six-level increase if the offense involved the smuggling, transporting, or harboring of [100] or more unlawful aliens, and makes no mention of profit. This offense involved the transportation and planned offloading in the United States of 109 aliens, only four of whom were defendants in this case. Whether each of the remaining 105 aliens was smuggled in exchange for payment, work aboard the ship, or nothing at all is irrelevant for purposes of this particular subsection. Therefore, the court did not err in imposing the six-level increase under § 2L1.1(b)(2)(C). V. Denial of Three-Level Decrease For Offenses Committed Other Than For Profit Appellants Mao Bing Mu, Sang Li, and Ben Lin argue that the district court erred in denying them a three-level decrease under Guideline § 2L1.1(b)(1), for defendants who commit[] the offense other than for profit. They say that there was no evidence that any of them was to be paid from the profits of the smuggling operation, and that in fact, their only form of compensation was free passage to the United States. Application Note 1 to § 2L1.1 states that a defendant who committed the offense solely in return for his own transportation did not commit the offense for profit. -26- The district court found by a preponderance of the evidence that each of the three defendants was motivated by (1) expectations of monetary gains, and (2) hopes of entering and remaining inside the United States. The court found that the defendants were knowing participants in a conspiracy that was expected to yield profits to some members of the conspiracy. The court also found that remaining inside the United States has monetary value because, among other things, the appellants would avoid the payment of fees and expenses incident to a legal entry. The government agrees with appellants that if the evidence demonstrated only that the defendants worked on the ship in exchange for free passage, they would have been entitled to the threelevel decrease. However, the court based its decision not to grant the decrease on an expectation of payment after their arrival in the United States. Mu, Li, and Ben Lin argue that the district court engaged in pure speculation when it found that they had an expectation of being paid out of the conspiracy's profits. The government concedes that it offered no specific evidence that Mu, Li, or Ben Lin had an expectation of being paid by the conspiracy, but notes that it was appellants' burden to establish that the downward adjustment was warranted. See United States v. Trinidad-López, 979 F.2d 249, 251 (1st Cir. 1992) (The validity of any claim of entitlement to a downward adjustment in the base offense level must be demonstrated by the defendant by a -27- preponderance of the evidence. The government is not required to establish defendant's disentitlement.) (citations omitted). The government argues that Mu and Li offered no evidence that they participated in the smuggling venture solely in return for their free passage to the United States and that Ben Lin offered only a selfserving declaration that he would receive free passage in exchange for piloting the boat. Thus, the government argues that the only evidence before the district court on the for profit issue was the high level of responsibility accorded to Mu, Li, and Ben Lin. The government claims that the district court properly determined that the high level of responsibility given them was indicative of their status as valued members of the conspiracy who would be compensated and was inconsistent with the theory that they were merely working for free passage to the United States. This is a close question. While we might not entirely agree with the inference of expectation of payment that the district court drew from the level of responsibility shouldered by Mu, Li, and Ben Lin, we do not find the court's decision to deny the downward adjustment to be clear error. Appellants had the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that they were due to receive only free passage to the United States in exchange for their services, and the district court found that this burden was not met. None of the three appellants offered testimony on this subject, and -28- only Ben Lin offered an affidavit stating that he expected only free passage. After viewing and hearing all of the evidence, the district court simply did not believe that Mu, Li, and Ben Lin had no expectation of payment. As the trier of fact for sentencing purposes, the district court had a better sense of the importance of Mu, Li, and Ben Lin to the conspiracy than we can glean from the record. Accordingly, we do not disturb the court's finding that Mu, Li, and Ben Lin failed to carry their burden of demonstrating that they committed the offense other than for profit. VI. Upward Departure to Appellant Hui Lin's Sentence Based On the Finding That He Was a Leader or Organizer of the Criminal Activity Finally, Hui Lin argues that the district court improperly applied a four-level increase to his offense level, based upon his role in the offense as a leader or organizer. Sentencing Guideline § 3B1.1(a) prescribes a four-level increase in a defendant's offense level if he was an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive. U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a). In this context, Hui Lin essentially repeats his argument that he could not have foreseen the treatment of the aliens or the conditions aboard the XING DA -- an argument that we have already rejected. It is undisputed that this venture involved five or more participants. Evidence was presented that Hui Lin inspected and -29- approved of Agent Rendon's boat during negotiations; that Hui Lin agreed to pay Agent Rendon $500,000 for use of the boat; that Hui Lin did most of the talking during price negotiations; and that Hui Lin gave Agent Rendon over $30,000 as a deposit. This evidence was sufficient to demonstrate that Hui Lin was in charge of the stateside portion of the venture, which was more than sufficient to support a finding that he was a leader or organizer of the criminal activity. Additionally, we note that Hui Lin was not affected by the district court's decision to apply the role in the offense enhancement. Hui Lin's guideline range, after the role in the offense enhancement was applied, was only 27-33 months and had to be raised to the statutory minimum of 36 months. If the role in the offense enhancement had not been applied, Hui Lin's guideline range would have been only 15-21 months, which the court would still have had to raise to the statutory minimum of 36 months. As a result, even if the district court had erred in applying the role enhancement, Hui Lin would not have been harmed in any way by the error. This is especially important because Hui Lin did not object at sentencing to the role enhancement. Consequently, we review only for a plain error affecting the defendant's substantial rights. See United States v. Carrozza, 4 F.3d 70, 87 (1st Cir. 1993) (citing United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725 (1993)), cert. denied, 511 U.S. 1069 (1994). Because Hui Lin -30- demonstrates neither such an error nor such an effect, this claim fails.