Opinion ID: 810055
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Inability to Pay Restitution

Text: Rangel argues that the district court erred in considering his inability to pay restitution to his victims in determining his sentence. We conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion in considering the serious financial impact Rangel’s crimes had on his victims. [5] A court may not impose a longer prison term as a substitute for a monetary penalty or as punishment for poverty and indigence. See Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235, 240-42 (1970) (holding that an individual may not be held in continued confinement beyond the statutory maximum because of his failure to pay a fine); Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395, 398-99 (1971) (holding unconstitutional the imposition of a jail sentence for a “fines only” offense where the defendant was unable to pay a fine); Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660, 66162 (1983) (holding that a sentencing court could not revoke probation for failure to pay a fine and make restitution absent findings that the defendant had not made sufficient bona fide 7 Rangel and the government disagree as to the appropriate standard of review regarding his challenge to the failure to give notice under Rule 32(h). Rangel argues that he objected to the imposition of consecutive sentences and so the appropriate standard is abuse of discretion. In contrast, the government maintains that because Rangel did not specifically object to the lack of notice, the standard of review is plain error. We need not settle this dispute because even if we accept Rangel’s standard, the district court did not abuse its discretion by failing to give notice. 12278 UNITED STATES v. RANGEL efforts to pay or that alternative forms of punishment would be inadequate). [6] A sentencing court is empowered to consider whether the victims will receive restitution from the defendant in varying from the Sentencing Guidelines based on § 3553(a) factors, however. Following Booker, we held that district courts, employing factors listed under § 3553(a), “have the discretion to weigh a multitude of mitigating and aggravating factors that existed at the time of mandatory Guidelines sentencing, but were deemed not ordinarily relevant, such as age, education and vocational skills, mental and emotional conditions, employment record and family ties and responsibilities.” United States v. Menyweather, 447 F.3d 625, 634 (9th Cir. 2006) (en banc) (quoting United States v. Ameline, 409 F.3d 1073, 1093 (9th Cir. 2005) (en banc) (Wardlaw, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (internal quotation marks omitted and emphasis removed)), overruled on other grounds as recognized by United States v. Munoz-Camarena, 621 F.3d 967, 969 (9th Cir. 2010). Further, we observed that “the district court’s goal of obtaining restitution for the victims of Defendant’s offense, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(7), is better served by a non-incarcerated and employed defendant.” Id. Rangel primarily relies on United States v. Burgum, 633 F.3d 810 (9th Cir. 2011), to support his position that a court may not consider restitution at all in imposing a longer sentence than that recommended by the Guidelines. In Burgum, the district court at sentencing noted that the defendant was unlikely to be able to pay the ordered restitution, and considered this “one additional aggravating factor.” Id. at 814. We vacated the sentence and remanded after concluding that the district court “plainly err[ed] by treating Burgum’s inability to pay restitution as an aggravating sentencing factor.” Id. But Burgum did not hold that there is an absolute bar to considering the possibility of restitution. Our concern in that case was that treating defendants who could not pay restitution as more culpable than those who could would result in discrimination UNITED STATES v. RANGEL 12279 against poor and indigent defendants. Id. at 816 (“[W]e have made clear that class and wealth distinctions . . . have no place in criminal sentencing.” (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted)). [7] The district court in this case did not consider Rangel’s inability to pay restitution itself as an aggravating factor in imposing a longer sentence, but focused instead on the impact on the victims of Rangel’s crimes. During the sentencing hearing, the district court noted that “one of the factors for the Court to consider under 3553 is restitution to the victims.” Continuing in this vein, the court repeatedly referred to the financial ruin that Rangel caused his victims, and the length of time it would take them to recover their losses. The court’s discussion made clear that its concern over restitution was based on the impact Rangel’s crime had on the victims and was not designed to punish Rangel for his inability to pay. At the end of the sentencing hearing, the court responded to Rangel’s objection by reiterating that the sentence was based not on Rangel’s inability to pay restitution but on “all of the harm and trauma that has befallen the [victims of the crimes].” Consideration of the impact on the victims was appropriate.