Court Opinion

ID: 9596011
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:45:24.272675+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:07:33.072133
License: Public Domain

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I join my colleagues in affirming the judgment of the district court with respect to all issues except those addressed in part V of the opinion, which considers Mr. Pod-horn’s challenges to two aspects of his sentence. I believe that the sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(4), based on the fact that two of the firearms were stolen, was applied properly to Mr. Podhorn. Additionally, I write separately to emphasize that this circuit never has held that the sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3, for abusing a position of trust or using a special skill, may be applied on the ground that the defendant was the holder of a federal firearms license (“FFL”); indeed, there is reason to believe it may not be so applied. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
I
The majority’s thoughtful and comprehensive opinion sets forth the facts of this case in detail; I shall not belabor them here. Section 2K2.1(b)(4) provides that, in calculating the offense level, “[i]f any firearm (A) was stolen, increase by 2 levels; or (B) had an altered or obliterated serial number, increase by 4 levels.” The application note qualifies that rule, stating:
If the only offense to which § 2K2.1 applies is 18 U.S.C. § 922(i), (j), or (u), or 18 U.S.C. § 924(i) or (m) (offenses involving a stolen firearm or stolen ammunition) and the base offense level is *562determined under subsection (a)(7), do not apply the enhancement in subsection (b)(4)(A). This is because the base offense level takes into account that the firearm or ammunition was stolen....
U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1 app. n. 8(A) (2004).
Mr. Podhorn was charged with offenses under section 922(j), an offense which takes into account that the firearm was stolen. Id. Additionally, his “base offense level [was] determined under subsection (a)(7).” Id. Thus, if section 922(j) were “the only offense to which § 2K2.1 applied],” the application of the section 2K2.1 enhancement would be improper. See id.
Here, however, section 2K2.1 also applies to two counts of conviction for failure to keep records in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(5); the application therefore was proper. See id. The PSR, which was adopted by the district court, found that two weapons — Hess Arms Model 47 rifles bearing serial numbers 991068107 and 991067293 — were stolen. This finding was supported by the jury’s special verdict in Counts 3 and 4, which found that Mr. Podhorn had disposed of those weapons knowing them to have been stolen. See Tr. Vol. 18 at 142-43. Counts 3 and 4 alleged violations of section 922(j), and, as discussed above, if these offenses were the only ones to which the enhancement could be applied, its application would be improper. Those same firearms were involved as well, however, in Counts 5 and 6. Id. at 217-20 (second superceding indictment). Counts 5 and 6 alleged violations of 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(5), failure to keep records required to be kept by 18 U.S.C. § 923. Violations of section 922(b)(5) are not within the limitation expressed in section 2K2.1(b)(4) that prohibits application of the stolen weapon enhancement; that is, the enhancement in section 2K2.1 may be applied to violations of the record-keeping requirement. Because section 2K2.1(b)(4) may be applied to those offenses, it may be applied to Mr. Podhorn. See U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1 app. n. 8(A) (“If the only offense to which § 2K2.1 applies is 18 U.S.C. § 922(i), (j), or (u) ... do not apply the adjustment in subsection (b)(4).” (emphasis added)). Here, where the section 2K2.1 enhancement could be applied properly to Counts 5 and 6, the district court did not err in applying it to Mr. Podhorn.1
II
I also write separately in order to address the application of U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3, a sentencing enhancement for abusing a position of trust or using a special skill. I concur with the majority opinion’s holding on this issue, which affirms the district court’s application of the enhancement. I do so because, on appeal, Mr. Podhorn has not contended that an FFL is not a position of either public or private trust. An argument not made on appeal is abandoned, and we need not consider it. See United States v. Venters, 539 F.3d 801, 809 *563(7th Cir.2008); United States v. Cochran, 534 F.3d 631, 634 n. 3 (7th Cir.2008).
I wish to express concern, however, regarding whether section 3B1.3 may be applied merely because the holder of an FFL “violat[ed] the terms of his Federal Firearms License.” See PSR ¶ 36. This court never has held that section 3B1.3 may be applied in this circumstance.
Section 3B1.3 states:
If the defendant abused a position of public or private trust, or used a special skill, in a manner that significantly facilitated the commission or concealment of the offense, increase by 2 levels. This adjustment may not be employed if an abuse of trust or skill is included in the base offense level or specific offense characteristic. ...
U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3. The majority opinion holds, and I concur, that an FFL does not constitute a special skill under section 3B1.3. See id. § 3B1.3 app. n. 4 (“ ‘Special skill’ refers to a skill not possessed by members of the general public and usually requiring substantial education, training or licensing. Examples would include pilots, lawyers, doctors, accountants, chemists, and demolition experts.”).2 In order to apply the enhancement to Mr. Podhorn, then, an FFL must qualify as a position of either public or private trust. There is reason to doubt this conclusion.
The application notes explain further what qualifies as a position of trust, stating:
“Public or private trust” refers to a position of public or private trust characterized by professional or managerial discretion (i.e., substantial discretionary judgment that is ordinarily given considerable deference). Persons holding such positions ordinarily are subject to significantly less supervision than employees whose responsibilities are primarily non-discretionary in nature. For this enhancement to apply, the position of public or private trust must have contributed in some significant way to facilitating the commission or concealment of the offense (e.g., by making the detection of the offense or the defendant’s responsibility for the offense more difficult). This adjustment, for example, applies in the case of an embezzlement of a client’s funds by an attorney serving as a guardian, a bank executive’s fraudulent loan scheme, or the criminal sexual abuse of a patient by a physician under the guise of an examination. This adjustment does not apply in the case of an embezzlement or theft by an ordinary bank teller or hotel clerk because such positions are not characterized by the above-described factors.
Id. app. n. I.3
As a general matter, we have held that the application of section 3B1.3 is appropriate only if the victim puts the offender in a position characterized by professional or managerial discretion — that is, a position with the type of substantial discretion*564ary judgment that is ordinarily given considerable deference — and that discretion then significantly facilitates the execution and detection of the crime. United States v. Hathcoat, 30 F.3d 913, 919 (7th Cir.1994). We must analyze the situation from the perspective of the victim — the person or entity who trusted the offender with discretion. Id.; see United States v. Ellis, 440 F.3d 434, 437 (7th Cir.2006). The focus is not on formal labels; instead, we “look to the relationship between the defendant and the victim and the level of responsibility the defendant was given.” United States v. Snook, 366 F.3d 439, 445 (7th Cir.2004) (emphasis added).
To date, no court has held that an FFL itself creates a position of trust. This may be because it is difficult to determine from its face how an FFL bestows on its holder the type of substantial discretion and responsibility necessary to apply section 3B1.3. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 923 & 924 (describing the qualifications for and requirements placed on FFL holders). If the FFL itself forms the basis of the position of trust, then the victim, whose perspective we must consider, is the Government.4 See Ellis, 440 F.3d at 437; Snook, 366 F.3d at 445. The Government, which is the licensing authority, provides an FFL holder with almost no discretion as a result of his license. An FFL holder must comply with all sales and firearms requirements of federal, state and local law. Id. §§ 923(d)(1)(F)(ii)(II), (e). He must maintain records of every disposition in any form of every firearm that he handles. Id. § 923(g)(1)(A). An FFL holder is subject to inspection at his licensed premises by the Secretary without reasonable cause or warrant. Id. §§ 923(g)(1)(B), (C). Such an inspection takes place at least once per year for the purpose of inspecting the licensee’s records, and more often than that in many circumstances. An FFL holder is even limited in the form of his record keeping; the records must be maintained “for such period, and in such form, as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe.” Id. § 923(g)(1)(A). Additionally, he must prepare special reports whenever he sells any combination of two or more pistols and revolvers to unlicensed persons within a five-day period, and the report must be sent to the Secretary and a local law enforcement agency the day of the second sale. Id. § 923(g)(3)(A). He must report a loss or theft to the local authorities within forty-eight hours. Id. § 923(g)(6). He must post his license on the premises covered by the license, id. § 923(h), and he never may conduct business from a motorized or towed vehicle, id. § 923(j). In short, a person holding an FFL is not “subject to significantly less supervision than employees whose responsibilities are primarily non-discretionary in nature.” See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3 app n. 1. Thus, it is not clear, given the nature of the FFL, how an FFL could convey upon its holder the type of substantial discretionary judgment necessary to apply the enhancement. See id.
Indeed, in the present case, Mr. Pod-horn’s offenses were strikingly akin to “the case of an embezzlement or theft by an ordinary bank teller or hotel clerk” — that is, offenses that do not qualify as positions of trust. Like the teller who pockets a customer’s deposit instead of placing it in the till, Mr. Podhorn stole firearms that had been sent to him for repair.5 An *565ordinary teller has no discretion with regard to his dealings with the deposit; he is required by his position to place it in the till. There is no element of discretionary judgment in his position that would permit him to explain properly the absence of that deposit in his till at the end of the day. The contrast between this situation and that of another example given by the application notes — that of the criminal sexual abuse of a patient by a physician under the guise of an examination — is clear. In the latter, the physician is entrusted with significant discretion by his patient, and, as a result of that discretion, he has substantial opportunity to offer explanations for his criminal conduct that would make detection of the offense significantly more difficult. To give another example, the FFL license is akin to a driver’s license that, although it puts one in a position legally to be on the road, does not subject one to the enhancement under section 3K1.3 if one drives while intoxicated. The FFL may offer a mere opportunity to commit offenses — -for instance, the failure to keep the records the FFL required an FFL holder to keep — but we should take care before holding that it significantly facilitates the commission or concealment of an offense and that it also affords the kind of substantial discretion that could make more difficult the identification or detection of a licensee’s offenses.
Conclusion
Therefore, I would affirm the judgment of the district court. For these reasons, I respectfully dissent from the portion of the panel’s opinion that reverses the district court’s application of the sentence enhancement in section 2K2.1(b)(4). I concur in the judgment with regard to the application of section 3B1.3, but would note considerable reservation with regard to whether the section generally should be applied to FFLs. I am pleased to join the opinion in all other respects.

. There is no double counting here. Indeed, the majority's view gives the defendant a free ride with respect to the fact that the weapons were stolen. Given the grouping rules governing these counts, Counts 3 and 4 add no additional punishment to the defendant’s sentence. More fundamentally, the majority's analysis fails to recognize the substantial and salutary public policy of distinguishing, for purposes of punishment, between failing to keep accurate records and failing to keep accurate records for stolen weapons. This is a far cry from the double punishment meted out in United States v. Jackson, 103 F.3d 561, 569 (7th Cir.1996), on which my colleagues rely, for committing a drug offense with a firearm. Here, the defendant kept his records in such a way that he concealed the presence of the weapons in his inventory. He then sold the stolen weapons. Consequently, reliance on Jackson is simply misplaced.

. The licensing qualifications to receive an FFL are perfunctory. One must be at least twenty-one years old; not be prohibited from transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms; not have willfully violated any federal provisions or regulations concerning firearms; not have willfully failed to disclose any material information on the application; have a location in a state from which the license business is conducted; and certify the business will be conducted pursuant to state or local law. See 18 U.S.C. § 923(d)(1)(A)-(F); see also United States v. Hinshaw, 166 F.3d 1222 (10th Cir.1999) (unpublished disposition). Any application "shall be approved” if those conditions are met and the applicant pays the fee. 18 U.S.C. § 923(d)(1).

. Application Note 2 provides certain exceptions from the qualification in Application Note 1, none of which apply here.

. In this case, the PSR slates that “[t]here are no identifiable victims of the offense.” PSR ¶ 26. It states additionally that the enhancement for abuse of a position of public or private trust was proper because Mr. Podhorn ''violat[ed] the terms of his Federal Firearms License.” PSR ¶ 36.

. I address specifically Mr. Podhorn’s offenses under section 922(j) because his rec*565ord-keeping offenses under section 922(b)(5) include possession of an FFL as an offense characteristic. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(5) ("It shall be unlawful for any licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector to sell or deliver ... any firearm or armor-piercing ammunition to any person unless the licensee notes in his records, required to be kept pursuant to section 923 of this chapter, the name, age, and place of residence of such person if the person is an individual ...(emphases added)). Application of section 3B1.3 to the offenses under section 922(b)(5) is therefore improper. See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3.