Court Opinion

ID: 9459994
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 21:37:17.868396+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:36:25.551153
License: Public Domain

BAZELON, Chief Judge,
concurring;
This court agreed to consider these motions en banc to decide whether, in Federal Youth Corrections Act1 cases, the section 5010(e) 2 and the presentence reports 3 should be formally included as part of the record on appeal. The court’s order today does not settle these questions, and provides no guidance for several cases that have been held pending our disposition here. Rather, in the preface of its order, the court suggests that it is granting appellants’ motions because “[n]o opposition was filed by the Government . . . ” I cannot join the court’s order because our power to include these reports in the appellate record derives, if at all, from the statute, and not from the consent of the U. S. Attorney.
I do believe, however, that under the Youth Corrections Act, as it has been explained in our en banc decisions in United States v. Coefield, 155 U.S.App. D.C. 205, 476 F.2d 1152 (1973), and United States v. Reed & Hoston, 155 U. S.App.D.C. 198, 476 F.2d 1145 (1973), appellants’ motions should be granted. Those cases establish that when a sentencing judge imposes an adult sentence on a youth aged 18-21, he must accompany his decision with a “statement of reasons,” unless he relies upon a section 5010(e) report,4 in which case “additional reasons need not be stated.” 476 F.2d at 1157. Once a judge justifies his imposition of an adult sentence — either by relying on a section 5010(e) report or by setting forth an independent statement of his reasons — appellate review is intended only to insure “the rationality of those factors in relation to the Congressional objectives.” 476 F.2d at 1150. Not to require disclosure of the section 5010(e) report in these circumstances would be to place blind faith in those who prepared it. In effect, we would be saying that once a report is made by the correction authorities, and followed by the sentencing judge, there could be no appellate review irrespective of the reasons or information contained in that report. Such a conclusion would fly directly in the face of Congressional intent as determined in Coefield and Reed & Hoston.

. 18 U.S.C. §§ 5005 et seq. (1970).

. Section 5010(e) of the Act allows the sentencing court to order a youth committed to an evaluation center for assistance in deciding which of the dispositions available under the Act the judge should choose.

. Rule 32 (c) (2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure allows the sentencing court to order a presentence report in all criminal eases, not just Youth Act cases.

. Since the presentence report by itself has never been offered as the sole justification for imposition of an adult sentence, we have never decided whether it, like the 5010(e) report, may totally replace a judge’s statement of reasons. To the extent the presen-tence report is offered as a justification for an adult sentence, it obviously should be treated in the same manner as is a 5010(e) report.