Opinion ID: 794151
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Departure from Criminal History Category II to Criminal History Category I

Text: 80 Thorn had two prior convictions — one in 1985 for driving while intoxicated and one in 1993 for filing a false representation that his asbestos business had certain required insurance coverage — which placed him in Criminal History Category II. At the initial sentencing the District Court, sua sponte, granted a criminal history departure stating that Thorn's history was overrepresented and was better represented by Criminal History Category I. Thorn I, 317 F.3d at 128-29. On appeal, the Court noted that the District Court did not articulate its findings of fact or conclusions of law that support a finding that Category II significantly overrepresented Thorn's criminal history and remanded to the District Court for specific findings and to permit the Government to oppose the departure. Id. at 131. 81 At resentencing, Thorn sought a downward departure from Category II, arguing that his prior convictions were in the distant past. The District Court granted the motion, ruling as follows: 82 The Criminal History Category remains at II as set forth in the presentence report initially. The guideline imprisonment range would be 235 months to 293 months. However, with respect to criminal history, this court finds that the seriousness of the defendant's criminal history is overrepresented by the Criminal History Category II. 83 A major consideration of this Court, as is required under the guidelines, that the Court consider the possibility of likelihood of recidivism. The Court does not find his prior convictions, DWI and the other conviction, indicates a likelihood of recidivism based upon that conduct, and for that matter, given the fact that the criminal conduct involves violation of the Clean Air Act and removal of asbestos, it's clear that the defendant would not be engaged in that kind of activity again, so the chance for recidivism in this area is completely absent. Furthermore, I considered all the other factors and circumstances, the conduct for which he was previously charged, the nature and seriousness of the offense and conviction, approximate time, and I find that it is more — it is over — overrepresents his Criminal History Level and that a Criminal History Level I would be more appropriate. Therefore, I'm going to make that departure. 84 As an initial matter, we note that the District Court's remand decision is as devoid of specific findings as was its original decision, which this Court was unable to assess for abuse of discretion. See Thorn I, 317 F.3d at 131. We stress the importance of the District Court's obligation under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c) to explain the reasons supporting the sentence imposed which, among other things, aids this Court's review. 85 The Government contends that the District Court erred in granting the CHC departure. We agree. Certain facts in this case resemble those that the Guidelines exemplify as supporting a conclusion that a defendant's criminal history is significantly less serious than that of most defendants in the same criminal history category. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4A1.3 cmt. n. 3 (sentencing courts may consider a downward departure where a defendant with two minor misdemeanor convictions close to ten years prior to the instant offense). Other critical facts, however, distinguish Thorn's history and render any such conclusion insupportable. Specifically, Thorn continued illegal asbestos abatement activities following adverse civil adjudications for conduct similar to that resulting in his conviction. 86 Prior to the initial sentencing, the Probation Department reported that in 1993, Thorn was prosecuted for falsifying documents related to his business insurance. Because of that violation and the 1993 misdemeanor conviction for Offering to File a False Instrument, A+ was prohibited from performing asbestos abatement projects. To circumvent that ban, Thorn started up a new company, A-Plus Environmental Services (A-Plus), falsely representing to officials that he was one of several owners of the business. Thereafter, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited A-Plus for several violations, which Thorn resolved by entering into a settlement with OSHA that required him to pay a fine and pledge that future asbestos abatement projects would comply with all state and federal laws. The following year, an investigation by the New York State Department of Labor revealed prevailing wage violations by A-Plus for which Thorn paid restitution to A-Plus employees. 87 Nothing in the District Court's decision reflects consideration of Thorn's civil adjudications, which counsel against a downward departure in his criminal history category. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual §§ 2Q1.2, cmt. n. 9 (Where a defendant has previously engaged in similar misconduct established by a civil adjudication or has failed to comply with an administrative order, an upward departure may be warranted.); 4A1.3(c) (identifying prior similar misconduct established by a civil adjudication or by a failure to comply with an administrative order as reliable information that may indicate the inadequacy of a criminal history category); see also United States v. Brennan, 395 F.3d 59, 71 (2d Cir.2005) (concluding that there was no error in upward criminal history category departure based on prior civil adjudications). Nor did the District Court explain its conclusion that there is no risk of recidivism in this case. On this record, the conclusion simply is not supportable: Thorn demonstrated a repeated willingness to persist in illegal asbestos removal activities despite having been prohibited from the field in its entirety and despite having agreed previously that he would perform asbestos projects in compliance with the law. 88 These factors belie any suggestion that CHC II overrepresents Thorn's criminal history. We conclude, therefore, that the District Court abused its discretion by departing to CHC I, and we further conclude that the erroneous adjustment may have an appreciable influence on the District Court's discretionary sentencing on remand. See Rubenstein, 403 F.3d at 99. Accordingly, the District Court's criminal history determination is vacated and remanded, and on resentencing the District Court is instructed to use CHC II in its Section 3553(a)(4) calculation to determine the kind of Guidelines sentence and sentencing range that will then be considered along with the other Section 3553 factors in deciding what sentence to impose. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553.