Opinion ID: 180848
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Letter of the Psychologist

Text: Larkin contends that the government violated the terms of the plea agreement by submitting a letter from a psychologist, which supported the application of an upward departure based upon the severe injury likely suffered by Larkin's daughters as a result of her conduct, to the United States Probation Officer charged with preparing the Pre-Sentence Report. The plea agreement plainly states that the government may provide the Court and the United States Probation Office all information it deems relevant to the application of the United States Sentencing Commission Sentencing Guidelines to the defendant's conduct. Id. at 113, ¶ 11. A letter from a psychologist detailing the impact of Defendant's conduct on her daughters' mental health is relevant to Larkin's conduct assessment and application of the Guidelines. In addition, while the government may be precluded from arguing in favor of an enhancement based upon these facts, passing this information along to the Probation Officer is within its obligations set forth in Paragraph 17, which details the right of the victims to be heard. See, e.g., United States v. Stemm, 847 F.2d 636, 639 (10th Cir.1988) (Disclosure of information as to the nature of the offense and each defendant's role is proper and within the Government's duty to provide, despite a promise that the Government would make no recommendation as to sentence.) (citations omitted). Paragraph 17(b) expressly permits the government to consult with the victims and to make the views of the victims regarding sentencing known to the Court. App. Vol. II at 116, ¶ 17. In addition, the record demonstrates that Larkin was informed on several occasions that the government was not precluded from providing the Court and/or the Probation Office with relevant information and that Paragraph 17 meant that the victims ... can present their views to the court through our office. Id. at 146 (Pre-Sentence Conference May 2006); Supp.App. at 107 (Sentencing Memorandum); App. Vol. II at 216 (Sentencing Hearing May 2009). The conduct of the government was permitted under a plain reading of the plea agreement and should have been reasonably expected by Larkin. Indeed, Larkin agreed that the government could present evidence related to the impact her conduct had on her daughters. THE COURT: Well, you always have the right to object to it. And, you know, as it goes to a victim impact statement, you know setting aside your more technical argument that the United States can't present any testimony on potential enhancements, which I think we've dealt with, I don't think you can argue that they can't present victim impact information. MS. SHAPIRO: No, I don't think I can. Supp.App. at 72 (Pre-Sentence Conference August 25, 2008). More importantly, the government never expressly argued in favor of an enhancement on this ground, nor can its actions fairly be construed as an implicit violation of the terms of the plea agreement. As a result, we find that the government did not breach the plea agreement by supplying the Probation Office with the psychologist report.