Court Opinion

ID: 9479499
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 07:20:12.132997+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:47:04.885338
License: Public Domain

*184CHAPMAN,
dissenting:
I dissent because I do not think United States v. Bruchey, 810 F.2d 456 (4th Cir.1987), should be extended to fines that are within the statutory limit provided for conviction of a crime. In this case, the fine of $100,000.00 is well within the maximum range of $2,000,000.00 provided for conviction on a charge of continuing criminal enterprise in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848. Moreover, at the hearing on the motion under Rule 35 for reduction of sentence, neither the appellant nor his attorney ever asked for an articulation of the court’s reasons for either originally imposing the fine of $100,000.00 or for refusing to reduce it. Consequently, I would affirm the imposition of the fine.
An appellate court has no power to review a sentence within the statutory limits unless there is a clear abuse of discretion, a procedural defect or misinformation. See e.g. Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 290 n. 16, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 3009 n. 16, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983); United States v. Tucker, 404 U.S. 443, 446-47, 92 S.Ct. 589, 591-92, 30 L.Ed.2d 592 (1972); United States v. Gambino, 788 F.2d 938, 954 (3rd Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 825, 107 S.Ct. 98, 93 L.Ed.2d 49 (1986); United States v. Hack, 782 F.2d 862, 870 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1184, 106 S.Ct. 2921, 91 L.Ed.2d 549 (1986); United States v. Barker, 771 F.2d 1362, 1364 (9th Cir.1985); United States v. Bernard, 757 F.2d 1439, 1444 (4th Cir.1985). Accordingly, if these factors do not appear to be present, a court of appeals has no power or authority to review a district court’s imposition of a sentence within the statutory ranges.
However, the majority begins its opinion by quoting Bruchey, stating that “the sentencing process is not free from close appellate scrutiny.” Bruchey, 810 F.2d at 458. While such a statement may apply in this circuit to restitution orders under former 18 U.S.C. § 3579, as in Bruchey, this rule should not be extended to fines for criminal convictions that are within the range provided by Congress.
Restitution is implicitly different from a fine. Restitution seeks to compensate a victim for a loss caused by a convicted criminal’s activity. As such, restitution has been considered by many commentators to be a quasi-civil remedy rather than a criminal sanction. See e.g. Harland, “Monetary Remedies for Victims of Crime: Assessing the Role of the Criminal Courts,” 30 U.C.L.A.L.Rev. 52, 52-56 (1982); Slavin & Sorin, “Project: Congress Opens a Pandora’s Box — The Restitution Provisions of the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982,” 52 Fordham L.Rev. 507, 533 (1984); Note, “Victim Restitution in the Criminal Process: A Procedural Analysis,” 97 Harv.L.Rev. 931, 932 (1984). Because of the somewhat dual nature of restitution, additional safeguards, such as detailed findings in support of restitution, are necessary to protect the criminal’s constitutional rights.
If restitution were sought in a civil case, the defendant would be afforded certain procedural safeguards, such as pleadings, discovery, and trial by jury, not available at a criminal sentencing. However, these devices are not available when a court imposes criminal restitution. In order to prevent a judge in a criminal case from arbitrarily imposing a restitution order, we required in Bruchey that the judge make explicit findings of fact in support of his restitution order. Such a statement of reasons is beneficial in many ways:
Without such a statement it is impossible for an appellate court to know what information the trial judge relied on in reaching his decision. Additionally, requiring the trial judge to state his reasons encourages him to carefully consider the type and amount of restitution. Finally, a statement of reasons for ordering restitution helps the defendant to understand the purposes behind the order, thus enhancing its rehabilitative effect.
Slavin & Sorin, supra, at 562-63. Therefore, the rule in Bruchey is necessary because of the unique nature of criminal restitution.
However, extending Bruchey to criminal fines within the range provided for by statute is unnecessary and would add just another obstacle to the trial judge’s already complex sentencing process. When impos*185ing a fine, the district court must consider the elements listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3622. However, it should not be required to make explicit findings as to each of the nine factors listed therein. As the Ninth Circuit has ruled, even though a district court may not make explicit findings in support of imposing a fine, “[t]here is no abuse of discretion when the court had before it information bearing on all the relevant factors, including facts necessary to consider imposition of a substantial fine, absent a record showing the court refused to consider the section 3622(a) factors.” United States v. Weir, 861 F.2d 542, 545 (9th Cir.1988), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 109 S.Ct. 1555, 103 L.Ed.2d 858 (1989). Accord United States v. Condon, 816 F.2d 434, 436 (8th Cir.1987).
Although other circuits have criticized Bruchey, it is the law in this circuit and serves a useful purpose. However, to extend the rule from restitution to statutorily authorized criminal fines serves no purpose and invades the discretion given to district courts in sentencing criminals. Accordingly, I dissent.