Opinion ID: 787516
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Terrorism Enhancement

Text: 147 Section 3A1.4 applies [i]f the offense is a felony that involved, or was intended to promote, a federal crime of terrorism. The term federal crime of terrorism is defined as commission of an enumerated felony — including providing material support to a designated FTO in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. § 2339B — that is calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct. 18 U.S.C.A. § 2332b(g)(5) (West 2000 & Supp.2004); see U.S.S.G. § 3A1.4, comment. (n.1).
148 Hammoud argues that the preponderance standard that generally governs in sentencing proceedings should not apply here because § 3A1.4 is a tail which wags the dog of the substantive offense, McMillan v. Pennsylvania, 477 U.S. 79, 88, 106 S.Ct. 2411, 91 L.Ed.2d 67 (1986), and therefore must be proved at least by clear and convincing evidence. Because Hammoud did not raise this claim in the district court (he instead asserted that the facts underlying the enhancement had to be found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt under Apprendi ), we review for plain error. As noted previously, the plain error standard requires Hammoud to demonstrate that there was error that was plain and affected his substantial rights; we must then determine that the exercise of our discretion to correct the error is necessary to protect the integrity of judicial proceedings. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that any error was not plain. 149 In McMillan, the Supreme Court noted that due process is generally satisfied when sentencing factors are proved by a preponderance of the evidence; the Court rejected a claim that a factor requiring imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence should be subject to a higher standard of proof. See id. at 91-92, 106 S.Ct. 2411. In reaching this conclusion, the court noted that the statutory mandatory minimum at issue there — for visible possession of a firearm — operates solely to limit the sentencing court's discretion in selecting a penalty within the range already available to it without the special finding of visible possession and that [t]he statute gives no impression of having been tailored to permit the visible possession finding to be a tail which wags the dog of the substantive offense. Id. at 88, 106 S.Ct. 2411. 150 While this court has taken the language of McMillan as an indication that the Due Process Clause imposes some limitations on the use of sentencing factors proven only by a preponderance of the evidence, we have never defined those limits and have never declared a sentence invalid on the basis that a sentencing factor was established by an inadequate standard of proof. See, e.g., United States v. Montgomery, 262 F.3d 233, 249-50 (4th Cir. 2001) (stating that [p]roof by a preponderance of evidence is sufficient as long as the enhancement is not a tail that wags the dog of the substantive offense; not deciding whether the district court was required to apply a heightened standard, as it had made the relevant finding by clear and convincing evidence [i]n an abundance of caution (internal quotation marks omitted)); United States v. Fenner, 147 F.3d 360, 366-67 (4th Cir.1998) (stating that sometimes the prosecution must bear the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt facts bearing upon sentencing but noting that such circumstances had not been defined). 151 The Sixth Circuit has held — in a case involving the § 3A1.4 enhancement — that it is never necessary to apply a heightened standard of proof to a sentencing factor. See United States v. Graham, 275 F.3d 490, 517 n. 19 (6th Cir.2001). The court reasoned that 152 The McMillan Court's apparent concern was not whether the sentencing factor's effect on the ultimate sentence was significant, but whether it was appropriately characterized as guiding the court's discretion in punishing the defendant for the crime for which he was convicted. As long as a sentencing factor does not alter the statutory range of penalties faced by the defendant for the crime of which he was convicted, McMillan permits the factor to be found by preponderance of the evidence. 153 Id. In contrast, the Ninth Circuit has imposed a heightened standard of proof in a number of cases. See, e.g., United States v. Jordan, 256 F.3d 922, 927-28 (9th Cir. 2001) (noting that court has applied heightened standard of proof for seven-level and nine-level enhancements and articulating totality of the circumstances test for determining whether heightened standard should apply (internal quotation marks omitted)). And, the Third Circuit has required application of the clear and convincing standard to factual findings underlying an upward departure that increased the defendant's sentence from 30 months to 30 years. See United States v. Kikumura, 918 F.2d 1084, 1100-1102 (3d Cir.1990). 154 In the absence of a binding decision from this court or the Supreme Court, and in view of the conflicting views of the other circuits, we conclude that any error in the standard of proof applied by the district court was not plain. See United States v. Neal, 101 F.3d 993, 998 (4th Cir.1996).
155 Hammoud raises two additional arguments regarding the terrorism enhancement. First, Hammoud contends that the district court should have applied U.S.S.G. § 2M5.3 — the guideline specifically applicable to violations of § 2339B — rather than § 3A1.4. Even assuming that the district court should have applied § 2M5.3, 20 there was no error. 156 Setting § 2M5.3 aside for the moment, it is clear that the terrorism enhancement may be imposed on a defendant who has been convicted of providing material support to a designated FTO. Section 3A1.4 applies [i]f the offense is a felony that involved ... a federal crime of terrorism. Id. § 3A1.4(a). As the Sixth Circuit has noted, [t]he word `involved' occurs frequently throughout the Guidelines, both in the substantive provisions and in the commentary, and is typically employed to mean `included.' Graham, 275 F.3d at 516. We therefore think it is reasonable to understand § 3A1.4 as applying to a circumstance such as this one, in which one of the counts of conviction is alleged to be a federal crime of terrorism. See id. (concluding that § 3A1.4 applies when the defendant has committed a federal crime of terrorism). Violation of § 2339B is one of the crimes enumerated in the definition of federal crime of terrorism. Therefore — still setting § 2M5.3 aside momentarily — a defendant who has been convicted of providing material support to an FTO may be subject to the enhancement if the evidence establishes that he provided such support with the intent to influence or coerce government conduct. 157 Having determined that the terrorism enhancement would apply to Hammoud if § 2M5.3 did not exist, we now turn to the question of whether the existence of § 2M5.3 changes our analysis. We conclude that it does not. As best we can discern from his rather conclusory argument, Hammoud's concern is that application of both § 2M5.3 and § 3A1.4 would constitute double counting, and therefore a district court could apply one or the other, but not both. We disagree. 158 Double counting under the guidelines occurs when a provision of the Guidelines is applied to increase punishment on the basis of a consideration that has been accounted for by application of another Guideline provision. United States v. Reevey, 364 F.3d 151, 158 (4th Cir.2004). Double counting is permissible unless the guidelines expressly prohibit it in a given circumstance. See id. Thus, [a]n adjustment that clearly applies to the conduct of an offense must be imposed unless the Guidelines expressly exclude its applicability. United States v. Williams, 954 F.2d 204, 207 (4th Cir.1992). Nothing in either § 2M5.3 or in § 3A1.4 prohibits the application of both provisions. Hammoud's double counting claim therefore fails. 159 Hammoud also maintains that the evidence does not support application of the terrorism enhancement. We disagree. The evidence presented at trial established that Hammoud had close connections with Hizballah officials, including its spiritual leader and a senior military commander. Other evidence — including Hammoud's own testimony — indicated that Hammoud was well aware of Hizballah's terrorist activities and goals and that he personally supported this aspect of Hizballah. In short, the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to establish that Hammoud provided material support to Hizballah with the intent to influence or coerce government conduct.