Opinion ID: 738505
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: may conduct underlying dismissed counts be considered?

Text: 25 Baird's first contention on appeal is that the district court improperly departed upward from the Guideline range based on conduct underlying counts to which Baird did not plead guilty and which were dismissed by reason of the plea agreement. 2 As we have noted, the point is still somewhat controversial; four circuits allow consideration of dismissed counts, and two others do not. See infra, part II, section B. Our analysis of this contention, therefore, requires close scrutiny of a number of provisions in the Sentencing Guidelines. We undertake such scrutiny in light of Koon v. United States, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 2035, 135 L.Ed.2d 392 (1996), which teaches that appellate review of a district court's decision to depart from the Guidelines is essentially subject to an abuse of discretion standard. See id. at ---- - ----, 116 S.Ct. at 2046-48. Any legal error in applying the Guidelines would constitute such an abuse. See id. at ---- - ----, 116 S.Ct. at 2047-48.
26 Whether a sentencing court can consider conduct underlying dismissed counts is at bottom a legal question about which there continues to be not only disagreement but also a certain amount of confusion. As we proceed, we bear in mind that not only is each guideline legally binding on the courts, see Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361, 391, 109 S.Ct. 647, 664, 102 L.Ed.2d 714 (1989), but so too are the accompanying policy statements, see Williams v. United States, 503 U.S. 193, 199-201, 112 S.Ct. 1112, 1118-20, 117 L.Ed.2d 341 (1992), and commentary, see Stinson v. United States, 508 U.S. 36, 41-44, 113 S.Ct. 1913, 1917-18, 123 L.Ed.2d 598 (1993), so long as neither the policy statements nor the commentary is inconsistent with any guideline. 27 The Guidelines afford sentencing courts considerable leeway as to the information they may consider when deciding whether to depart from the Guideline range. Section 1B1.4 specifically states that in determining whether a departure is warranted, the court may consider, without limitation, any information concerning the background, character and conduct of the defendant, unless otherwise prohibited by law. 1994 U.S.S.G. § 1B1.4. Moreover, with respect to conduct underlying dismissed counts, the commentary to § 1B1.4, when read in conjunction with the commentary to § 1B1.3, indicates that considering such conduct is appropriate. The commentary to § 1B1.4 declares that information that does not enter into the determination of the applicable guideline sentencing range may be considered in determining whether and to what extent to depart from the guidelines. Id. § 1B1.4, comment., backg. And, the commentary to § 1B1.3 states that [c]onduct that is not formally charged or is not an element of the offense of conviction may enter into the determination of the applicable guideline sentencing range. Id. § 1B1.3, comment., backg. 3 28 It must be, therefore, that conduct not formally charged or not an element of the offense can be considered at sentencing; if such information can be considered in determining the applicable guideline range under § 1B1.3, then such information can be considered in determining whether to depart from that range under § 1B1.4. Thus, conduct underlying dismissed counts--which is conduct that is neither formally charged nor an element of the offense--may be considered at sentencing. 4 29 This conclusion is supported by the weight of the case law. The leading case is United States v. Kim, 896 F.2d 678 (2d Cir.1990) (allowing the consideration of conduct underlying dismissed counts). In Kim, the Second Circuit identified four ways in which the Guidelines addressed misconduct not resulting in conviction. See id. at 682-84. First, the Guidelines take cognizance of acts that typically accompany or occur in the course of an offense. These specific offense characteristics determine the severity of the offense. Second, the Guidelines create rules concerning misconduct to which the parties stipulate in connection with the entry of a plea. Third, calculating the criminal history category under the Guidelines requires an analysis of misconduct not resulting in a conviction. Finally, the Guidelines envision departures based on misconduct not resulting in conviction. Against this background, the court in Kim concluded that with respect to acts of misconduct not resulting in conviction, the [Sentencing] Commission intended to preclude departures for acts bearing no relationship to the offense of conviction, but to permit departures for acts that relate in some way to the offense of conviction, even though not technically covered by the definition of relevant conduct. Id. at 684; accord United States v. Barber, 93 F.3d 1200, 1209-12 (4th Cir.1996); United States v. Big Medicine, 73 F.3d 994, 997-98 (10th Cir.1995); United States v. Ashburn, 38 F.3d 803, 807-08 (5th Cir.1994) (en banc), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 1969, 131 L.Ed.2d 858 (1995); United States v. Zamarripa, 905 F.2d 337, 341-42 (10th Cir.1990). 30 In a related vein, the Supreme Court recently held that a sentencing court is permitted to consider conduct of which a jury acquitted a defendant. See United States v. Watts, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 633, 136 L.Ed.2d 554 (1997). 5 In so doing, the Court engaged in a close analysis of statutory authority, the Sentencing Guidelines (particularly § 1B1.3 and § 1B1.4), its own precedent, and pre-Guidelines sentencing practices. See id. at ---- - ----, 117 S.Ct. at 635-36. With sweeping language, the Court made plain that a sentencing court is entitled to examine a broad range of factors that may relate to the defendant's conduct, including, but apparently not limited to, the defendant's life, characteristics, and past criminal behavior, even if such behavior did not result in criminal convictions. See id. at ----, 117 S.Ct. at 635. According to the Court, the Guidelines kept in place a sentencing system in which there was no basis for the courts to invent a blanket prohibition against considering certain types of evidence at sentencing. Id. 6 31 Watts strongly suggests that a sentencing court may consider conduct underlying dismissed counts. If a sentencing court can consider conduct that a jury, after trial, believed to be unproven beyond a reasonable doubt, it would surely seem that a sentencing court can consider conduct underlying a count that, by plea agreement, has been dismissed without having been tested in an adversarial process. We note that in Watts the sentencing courts considered acquitted conduct when calculating the applicable guideline range. Although neither of the underlying cases in Watts was a departure case, we find nothing in Watts that implies that the Supreme Court would treat a departure case any differently. In fact, the Court relies heavily on § 1B1.4, which governs the information applicable to departures, in reaching its conclusion. 32 The foregoing analysis does not lead ineluctably to the conclusion that any conduct underlying a dismissed count may be considered at sentencing. The conduct underlying the dismissed counts must be related in some way to the offense conduct. To be related conduct, the conduct need not, however, fit the definition of relevant conduct under § 1B1.3. 7 Without attempting to define with precision the meaning of related, we again follow United States v. Kim, supra, and hold that the acts in question must exhibit commonalities of factors sufficient to allow for a reasonable grouping of the separate, individual acts into a larger, descriptive whole. It is not enough, however, that the acts stand in close temporal relation to one another. Rather, the similarities of the acts must arise from the character or type of the acts. 33 The Second Circuit's logic in Kim in this respect is compelling. It began by noting that specific offense characteristics for a given guideline represent typical occurrences during the commission of the specific crime covered by the guideline. See id. at 682. It went on to note that the relevant conduct guideline, § 1B1.3, is limited to conduct that is somehow related to the offense of conviction. See id. at 682-83. Then, the court noted that in determining the criminal history category a court is directed to similar, prior conduct under § 4A1.3(e). See id. at 683. Finally, the court looked at the language the Guidelines employ with respect to departures and pointed out that departures should only be based on conduct related to the offense of conviction. See id. 34 The court concluded that these provisions, when taken together, make clear that a sentencing court may only consider dismissed conduct if it is related to the charged conduct. In the case at bar, it is clear that the conduct underlying the dismissed counts was sufficiently related to the charged conduct. All of the acts, whether charged or not, involved essentially the same type of illegal searches and seizures and essentially the same perpetrators. The only differences appear to be the identity of the particular victims. 8 35 The Ninth Circuit in United States v. Castro-Cervantes, 927 F.2d 1079 (9th Cir.1990) reached a conclusion different from the Second Circuit. It held that a court could not consider the conduct underlying dismissed counts--whether related to the offense conduct or not--when making a departure determination. See id. at 1081-82. (A more complete discussion of Castro-Cervantes is more appropriately taken up later. See infra part II, section D.); see also United States v. Harris, 70 F.3d 1001, 1003-04 (8th Cir.1995) (holding that consideration of conduct underlying dismissed counts to support an upward departure is inappropriate). Notwithstanding its Castro-Cervantes holding, the Ninth Circuit also made clear, in United States v. Fine, 975 F.2d 596 (9th Cir.1992), that the rule in Castro-Cervantes only applies to departures based on conduct underlying counts dismissed pursuant to a plea agreement; Castro-Cervantes did not limit consideration of such conduct as relevant conduct in determining the applicable sentencing range. See id. at 602. 36
37 Before proceeding further, we must consider whether our decision in United States v. Thomas, 961 F.2d 1110 (3d Cir.1992), which arguably calls into question our conclusion that consideration at sentencing of conduct underlying dismissed counts is permissible, undermines our conclusions. In Thomas, in the course of obtaining firearms from a gun shop, the defendant falsely stated on four Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms forms that he had never been convicted of a crime punishable by a prison term in excess of one year. In fact, the defendant had a lengthy criminal record. As part of a plea agreement, the defendant agreed to plead guilty to four counts of making false statements in connection with the purchase of a firearm. In exchange, the government agreed not to charge him with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, a crime that carried with it a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. At sentencing, the district court departed from the applicable Sentencing Guideline range of 24-30 months. It justified the departure by its finding that the defendant's criminal history category, the highest category under the Guidelines, under-represented the defendant's criminal history because it did not take into account juvenile convictions, the likelihood of recidivism, and parole revocations. 38 As an alternative argument supporting the decision to depart, the government argued on appeal that, even assuming that the factors on which the district court relied to depart from the criminal history category were improper, the court could have departed based on the conduct not charged. The Thomas panel disagreed; it wrote that a sentencing court could not depart from the Guidelines to account for conduct underlying a forgone charge. See id. at 1121 (It would be a dangerous proposition to allow district courts to base upward departures on crimes that were not actually charged.). 39 Although Thomas seems to suggest that consideration at sentencing of conduct underlying dismissed counts is improper, we believe that any such conclusion is incorrect. We have explained how our conclusion flows from Watts, a Supreme Court decision. To the extent that Thomas is inconsistent with Watts, Thomas will of course be deemed without effect. 9 Even assuming that Watts is not controlling because Watts and Thomas arose in different factual contexts--the issue in Watts was the consideration of acquitted conduct and that in Thomas was of dismissed conduct--Thomas is distinguishable from the present case. The particular facts of Thomas and our irritation with the government's position relative to those facts largely determined the result. 40 Thomas presented an unusual plea agreement. The government expressly declined to prosecute the defendant for illegal possession of a firearm. See Thomas, 961 F.2d at 1124 n. 1 (Greenberg, J., concurring). To prosecute would have triggered the provisions of the armed career criminal act. See id. at 1112. The armed career criminal act operates much like an on/off switch in that it applies automatically if its prerequisites are met. See id. at 1122. Moreover, once it applies, the armed career criminal act imposes a mandatory minimum sentence; there is no incremental increase in the associated penalties. See id. By arguing for consideration of the conduct underlying the forgone charge, the government in effect reneged on its agreement, and sought to alter the armed career criminal act and impose on it a sliding scale it does not have, ie., change the fundamental nature of the act so that it operated like a dimmer switch. The government did so by arguing that an upward departure--to a sentence less harsh than that mandated by the armed career criminal act--was warranted because it had not sought application of the armed career criminal act. The government wanted the armed career criminal act to play a role in sentencing, but not too much of a role. The court in Thomas plainly disapproved of this attempt. 10 41 Thomas, as we read it, would not foreclose all consideration of conduct underlying dismissed counts. Instead, Thomas seems to be directed at the particular circumstances presented by that case. See id. at 1124 n. 1 (Greenberg, J., concurring) (I do not understand the opinion to preclude in all circumstances the possibility of a departure predicated on conduct which could have been the basis for additional charges but was not. Here there is a special situation....). Because the circumstances of the present case differ substantially from those of Thomas, Thomas should not control our inquiry. 11 42
43 Baird contends alternatively that the policy statement outlining the standards for accepting a plea agreement prohibits, as a matter of law, consideration of conduct underlying a dismissed charge. The relevant portion of the policy statement follows: 44 In the case of a plea agreement that includes the dismissal of any charges or an agreement not to pursue potential charges [Rule 11(e)(1)(A) ], the court may accept the agreement if the court determines, for reasons stated on the record, that the remaining charges adequately reflect the seriousness of the actual offense behavior and that accepting the agreement will not undermine the statutory purposes of sentencing or the sentencing guidelines. 45 Provided, that a plea agreement that includes the dismissal of a charge or a plea agreement not to pursue a potential charge shall not preclude the conduct underlying such charge from being considered under the provisions of § 1B1.3 (Relevant Conduct) in connection with the count(s) of which the defendant is convicted. 46 1994 U.S.S.G. § 6B1.2(a). 47 According to Baird, the first paragraph of this subpart means that, if the court believed that the counts not dismissed by virtue of the plea agreement did not satisfactorily account for the seriousness of the actual offense, then what the court should have done is to reject the plea agreement. In other words, Baird asserts, conduct underlying dismissed counts provides grounds for rejecting a plea agreement but not for departing from the applicable sentencing range. 48 Baird draws support for this argument from Castro-Cervantes. The Ninth Circuit in Castro-Cervantes reasoned that if a plea agreement does not reflect the seriousness of the offense, the court should reject the agreement at the outset; at sentencing, it is too late to seek to address shortcomings in the plea agreement. Allowing a court to depart from the sentencing range based on conduct underlying dismissed counts would violate[ ] the spirit if not the letter of the bargain represented by the plea agreement. Castro-Cervantes, 927 F.2d at 1082. The Ninth Circuit expanded on the policy justifications driving Castro-Cervantes by noting that allow[ing] judges to depart from the Guidelines on the basis of counts that have been dropped pursuant to plea agreements would severely undermine the incentive of defendants to enter into plea agreements. United States v. Faulkner, 952 F.2d 1066, 1070 (9th Cir.1991). 12 49 We disagree. This argument begs the ultimate question. Whether a court accepts a plea agreement is dependent, to some extent, on the information it can consider at sentencing. If the court is aware that it cannot consider conduct underlying dismissed counts at sentencing, then it may be more reluctant to accept a plea agreement. The opposite is also true. If the court is aware that it may consider conduct underlying dismissed counts at sentencing, then it may more readily accept a plea agreement. At all events, we do not see Baird's argument from § 6B1.2(a) as undercutting the conclusion we have already reached regarding the use of dismissed conduct. The language of the policy statement is insufficiently specific to contradict the clearer guidance provided by other sections of the Guidelines and the Supreme Court, discussed supra. 50 Baird also argues that the second paragraph of this policy statement implies that conduct underlying dismissed counts may only be used to determine the applicable sentencing range under § 1B1.3, but may not be used to determine whether to depart from that range. Otherwise, the argument continues, the first paragraph of this subpart would be mere surplusage; no court would hesitate to accept a plea agreement that includes dismissed counts if that court could always consider the conduct underlying those dismissed counts. 51 We disagree. As noted above, § 1B1.3, § 1B1.4, and the commentary thereto make clear that the information appropriately considered in a decision to depart is broader than that considered in determining the applicable guideline range. If § 6B1.2(a) does not preclude a court from examining conduct underlying dismissed counts in determining the applicable sentencing range (in fact, the proviso contained in the last paragraph of § 6B1.2(a) seems to encourage it), then we see no reason why it should preclude the court from examining the same information when deciding whether to depart. 13 52 Moreover, even if a court actually considers conduct underlying a dismissed count, it does not automatically ensure that the remaining charges will reflect the seriousness of the actual offense conduct. The statutory maximum sentence for the remaining charges may be relatively low; in such a case, it might be of little significance that a court could consider conduct underlying dismissed counts because that court would be unable to impose a sentence in excess of the statutory maximum. Under our interpretation of the Guidelines, then, a court might reject a plea agreement because it believes that the statutory maximum sentence for the remaining counts is too short to account both for the charged conduct and for the dismissed conduct. Contrary to Baird's submission, then, the first paragraph of § 6B1.2(a) is not mere surplusage.
53 Our conclusion that conduct underlying dismissed counts may be considered when determining whether to depart from the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range comports with the policies underlying the Guidelines themselves. The Guidelines are, at bottom, a modified real offense system. See 1994 U.S.S.G. chap. 1, pt. A, intro. comment. 4(a). More specifically, they are a mix of a charge offense system and a pure real offense system in that it bases a sentence on both the formal offense of conviction and on the actual conduct of the defendant. See Stephen Breyer, The Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the Key Compromises Upon Which They Rest, 17 Hofstra L.Rev. 1, 8-12 (1988). Therefore, it is clear that the Guidelines envisioned that sentencing courts would consider at least some conduct for which a defendant was not actually charged. 54 We are unconvinced by Baird's argument that use of conduct underlying dismissed counts will deny defendants the benefit of the plea agreement bargain, nor, as we explained, see supra part II, section D, do we find persuasive the contention that without that benefit there will be no incentive for defendants to plea bargain. In the usual case, the plea agreement makes clear that the sentencing court is not bound by the agreement. Within statutory bounds, the sentencing court has great discretion. If a defendant is sentenced to a term of imprisonment within the maximum set out in the plea agreement, it is difficult to see the grounds on which a defendant can rest a complaint; the defendant got what he bargained for. 14 55 At all events, the incentive to plea bargain remains. The defendant can limit the sentencing court's discretion by bargaining to plead guilty only to charges with lower statutory maxima. Of course, the court may reject that plea agreement. And, if the defendant pled pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(e)(1)(A)--which allows the government to dismiss charges--or 11(e)(1)(C)--which allows the government and defendant to agree on a specific sentence--he can withdraw his plea. 15 Moreover, the Sentencing Guidelines allow for an adjustment of offense level for the acceptance of responsibility, see 1994 U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, and courts routinely make this adjustment for defendants who plead guilty.
56 We conclude that a sentencing court, in its determination whether to depart from the sentencing range made applicable by the Sentencing Guidelines, may consider conduct underlying counts dismissed pursuant to a plea agreement, provided that such conduct is related to the conduct forming the basis of the remaining counts and that such conduct is proved by at least a preponderance of the evidence. In this case, it was appropriate for the district court to consider conduct underlying the counts against Baird that were dismissed. That conduct was related to the charged conduct and it was proved by at least a preponderance of the evidence. 57