Court Opinion

ID: 9493969
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 15:25:09.859979+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:56:08.569018
License: Public Domain

NYGAARD, J.,
dissenting in part:
I agree with my colleagues that the District Court erred by relying upon the sentencing disparities between appellants and their co-defendants as a basis for downward departure. Further, I reluctantly agree that re-incarceration, even where, as here, it is wholly unnecessary and antithetical to the historical purposes of criminal law and penology, in and of itself does not take this case out of the heartland. However, in contrast to the Majority, I do not think the District Court abused its discretion by departing downward on the basis of extraordinary rehabilitation. Accordingly, I would affirm the District Court on this issue, but remand the cause for it to determine if the departure is reasonable on this basis alone.
With respect to Mendenhall, the Majority contends that his three proffered examples of rehabilitation are not significant. Maj. Op. at 228. It finds nothing extraordinary about his conduct on parole, his career change, or his participation in counseling. I disagree with the Majority’s characterization of Mendenhall’s efforts and agree with the District Court that, when considered together, they amount to remarkable change. First, Mendenhall’s work with probation was far above average. His supervising parole officer report*234ed that during his supervised release, Mendenhall “performed admirably.” “Admirable” is not synonymous with “average” or even “well.” It connotes something distinct and exceptional. The Majority overlooks this highly complimentary statement altogether in assessing the merits of Men-denhall’s conduct while on parole.
Mendenhall’s parole officer also stated that “based on Mr. Mendenhall’s performance while on supervision, I would venture to opine that his criminal conduct is likely aberrant and is not likely to be repeated.” The Majority fails to attach much, if any significance to this statement. Without explaining why, it quickly finds that “this statement hardly amounts to evidence of extraordinary rehabilitation.” Again, I disagree.
Given the dismal statistics regarding recidivism, the Parole Officer’s observation and opinion indicates something truly unique and remarkable. It demonstrates that Mendenhall did not just comply with the requirements of his parole and avoid violations. More importantly, he displayed a sincere, genuine desire to change his life. This conduct and earnestness, although the highest goal of corrections, is unfortunately rare among convicted offenders. Mendenhall left a marked impression on the parole officer. I accept the District Court’s finding that Mendenhall’s behavior was exceptional.
Next, I believe Mendenhall’s pursuit of architecture reflects a “real, positive change in behavior.” A letter from his current employer states that Mendenhall “accepts responsibility and deadlines, has shown integrity, and has a true desire to increase his professional skills and become a fully licensed architect. His talent, moral ethic, and people skills would make Nolan hard to replace.” Mendenhall did not begrudgingly change careers. Rather, he approached his new job with a positive attitude and worked hard to achieve success. This was not required by the criminal justice delivery system. Mendenhall’s success, not only his work-product but also his workplace relationships, reflects an inner desire and a commitment to move forward with his life and to do so in a moral, lawful manner. His attitude indicates extraordinary rehabilitative efforts.
Finally, Mendenhall’s participation in therapy exemplifies the exceptional nature of his rehabilitation. For example, Men-denhall initiated therapy sessions on his own, without any prompting from the court. He did this because he wanted to “improve his marriage, his ability to be a better father, and to learn from his mistakes that he had made in the past.” Additionally, Mendenhall began therapy before he knew that he faced resentencing, thus demonstrating his sincerity. As his therapist stated, “[wjorking with forensic populations on a frequent basis, I was impressed that he voluntarily came forth, willing to examine his past patterns of behavior at a time in which there did not seem to be a compelling need to impress a judge or other sentencing authority.” Moreover, Mendenhall did not merely show up for therapy. He was an active participant, willing to work through difficult issues and examine his conduct. In essence, he recognized that he needed help, and took responsibility for his actions. His therapist described him as “genuinely motivated to become a more moral and effective person and to forever avoid situations that have historically proven to be high risk” and as someone who “is concerned about morals and the implications of his conduct.”
Despite these accolades, the Majority summarily concludes that there is no evidence to suggest that counseling was “somehow present to an extraordinary degree in this case.” In my view, this mini*235mizes Mendenhall’s participation and achievements in therapy and fails to appreciate the important distinction between openly engaging in therapy and merely showing up with old attitudes intact. Many offenders do the latter in order to meet a requirement; they “fake it to make it” without any intention of looking inward and questioning their behavior. Menden-hall did just the opposite. If his efforts were not outside of, or beyond, the ordinary then I am not certain what is. Accordingly, I conclude that Mendenhall’s voluntary participation in therapy, coupled with his “admirable” conduct on parole and in his new job, amount to extraordinary rehabilitation.
Similar to Mendenhall, I also think that Yeaman has made “concrete gains toward turning his life around.” The Majority acknowledges that Yeaman’s conduct was commendable but nonetheless rejects a finding of extraordinary rehabilitation. In my view, the Majority overlooks the unique nature of Yeaman’s accomplishments and sets the threshold for extraordinary rehabilitation too high. First, Yea-man went “above and beyond” what was required of him in prison. Aside from being a “model prisoner” with no discipline record, Yeaman became actively involved in the prison community and focused his energies upon helping others. For example, he joined the prison choir and completed Spanish, public speaking courses, and other college courses. Moreover, he tutored inmates who spoke only Spanish. Additionally, Yeaman consistently received outstanding performance reviews for his work as a janitor. His reviews also reveal that Yeaman had a positive attitude while incarcerated.
Yeaman’s letters to family and friends reflect his desire to help others while incarcerated. For example, in one letter, he explained:
It has been exactly one month since I ... presented myself for incarceration. It seems bizarre to me that I’m a ‘prisoner.’ Rather, I’ve adopted the philosophy that I’m a ‘volunteer.’ I can leave really anytime I want to, yet I’m an inmate. Since I’m a volunteer, I then believe that I should do the best at whatever I’m supposed to be volunteering to do. Most of the inmates spend a lot of time hiding from the prison guards and doing the least amount of work possible. I believe that regardless of the terms of my employment, I should do the best that I can.
J.A. at 365. In another letter, he stated:
As it turns out this is a period of reflection; of redirecting one’s life and contemplating one’s future. From that standpoint, this experience has been good for me. And, to the extent that I am able to help others do the same, it is also good. So, the time is passing very quickly now and I am very involved in meeting people and participating in activities.
J.A. at 367.
Helping others in the prison setting is certainly not mandatory. Indeed, active, positive involvement in the prison community is rare. In United States v. Bradstreet, 207 F.3d 76 (1st Cir.2000), the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recognized how uncommon it is for prison inmates to focus their efforts on educating others. In that case, the Court affirmed a downward departure for extraordinary rehabilitation because, compared with other inmates whose efforts were focused on self-improvement, the defendant’s efforts were substantially concerned with others as well. See Bradstreet, 207 F.3d at 83. We have never held that assisting and educating others may serve as a basis for extraordinary rehabilitation. I would. I think such conduct falls within the general *236definition of extraordinary rehabilitation that we set forth in United States v. Sally, 116 F.3d 76 (3d Cir.1997). That is, it reflects a “truly repentant defendant ]” who has a “demonstrated commitment to repair and to rebuild [his] li[fe].” Sally, 116 F.3d at 80. Accordingly, I believe that Yeaman’s “volunteer” approach, i.e., his efforts to help Spanish-speaking inmates learn English and his positive presence and involvement in the prison community, demonstrate remarkable strides toward changing his life.
Next, Yeaman’s shift in attitude during his prison stay also supports a finding of extraordinary rehabilitation. In letters to family and friends, Yeaman recognized his own shortcomings and accepted responsibility for his actions. Further, he expressed a desire to change his life. He stated:
Shortly after I got here, I was told by most of the inmates various ways to get through the system with minimal work and not antagonizing the Prison staff. I questioned myself about how I was going to feel about myself under such circumstances and decided that if nothing else, I wanted to come out of here with more integrity that I came in with. I wasn’t going to let the system create a scenario where I compromised my values to become like someone’s expectations of me.
J.A. at 366.
Yeaman also began cooperating with the United States Government for the first time. In the past, Yeaman “butted heads with the United States Government, and ... tested the regulators in Washington and throughout the country continually.” J.A. at 171. However, after his conviction, he accepted the government’s authority. Along with his conduct in prison, I think Yeaman’s change in attitude also supports a finding of rehabilitation.
The Majority believes that Yeaman’s attitude and behavior did not significantly improve. It reasons that Yeaman is a man of strong religious convictions and thus his attitudes and behaviors during his incarceration and supervised release could be reasonably expected. I disagree.1 Although Yeaman professed strong religious beliefs before his conviction and incarceration, he did not apply them in his own life. He committed a serious crime involving fraud and deceit. However, while in prison and after his release, Yeaman demonstrated a genuine commitment to moral principles and values. He is living his life differently than he did before his incarceration. He has not violated the terms of his supervised release and is now successfully managing a cattle ranch. This sort of *237notable change should not be underestimated. In this case, it indicates an extraordinary effort at rehabilitation.
Finally, it should be noted that a sentencing court has broad discretion in determining whether to grant a downward departure, because it alone has the full flavor of the trial or plea, and all prior proceedings. Thus, it can gauge the full effect of its sentences upon of fender and victim alike. As the Supreme Court stated: “A district court’s decision to depart from the Guidelines ... will in most eases be due to substantial deference, for it embodies the traditional exercise of discretion by a sentencing court.” Koon v. United States, 518 U.S. 81, 98, 116 S.Ct. 2035, 2046, 135 L.Ed.2d 392 (1996). Applying this deferential standard to the present case, I think the circumstances relied upon by the District Court are well within the “outside permissible limits” of extraordinary rehabilitation and are commensurate with circumstances “found exceptional in existing case law.” United States v. Serafini, 233 F.3d 758, 772 (3d Cir.2000). As noted above, both Yeaman and Mendenhall distinguished themselves from other inmates and took concrete steps toward changing their lives. Therefore, I do not think the District Court abused its discretion by departing downward for extraordinary rehabilitation.
The Majority had no need to address the extent of the District Court’s departures because it rejected extraordinary rehabilitation altogether. Because I think a departure is permissible, I will briefly discuss my views on the penological reasonableness of the court’s departure.
We have long been guided by the standard of 18 U.S.C.A. § 3742(e)(3), which directs a District Court to impose a sentence “sufficient but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection.” Paragraph (2), in turn, lists four purposes of sentencing, which include the need:
(A) to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment for the offense;
(B) to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct;
(C) to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant; and
(D) to provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most effective manner.
Id. § 3553(a)(2). I believe we should return to the purposes of sentencing, and attempt to make sense of what we are trying to accomplish whenever we are called upon to review a sentence, or as here, determine whether the extent of a court’s sentencing departure was reasonable.
The first purpose of sentencing is to reflect the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment. In this case, we have empirical evidence that this purpose has been met. The sentence and time already served have brought about a remarkable rehabilitation in these two individuals, who are now leading exemplary lives. The evidence of record indicates that they have indeed developed a respect for the law. Both Yeaman and Mendenhall exhibited model behavior while confined, took steps to change their careers, accepted responsibility for their illicit conduct, and sincerely apologized. If all offenders left confinement as these two have, we could fold our tents. A criminal justice delivery system could not hope for better results.
The second purpose of sentencing is to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct. Yeaman and Mendenhall have already served time. They have been pun*238ished. Sending them back to prison for a longer term would not enhance the deterrent effect of them original sentences. It is widely recognized that the duration of incarceration provides little or no general deterrence for white collar crimes. See A. Mitchell Polinsky & Steven Shavell, On the Disutility and Discounting of Imprisonment and the Theory of Deterrence, 28 J. Legal Stud. 1, 12 (Jan.1999). For individuals committing these types of crimes, the probability of being apprehended and incarcerated is a powerful deterrent in of itself, because the “disutility of being in prison at all and the stigma and loss of earning power may depend relatively little on the length of imprisonment.” Id. at 12 (suggesting that “less than-maximal sanctions, combined with relatively high probabilities of apprehension” is “optimal” for white collar crimes). Thus, there is not a scintilla of evidence here that longer sentences will deter anyone from committing mail and wire fraud.2 It is mere speculation. Hence, I cannot say the District Court abused its discretion by finding that this condition was met.
The third purpose of sentencing is to protect the public from further crimes by the defendant. In this case, there is absolutely no evidence that either Yeaman or Mendenhall would commit further crimes. Indeed, here we have expert opinion to the contrary, stating that this behavior is “not likely to be repeated.” And as explained above, Yeaman’s and Mendenhall’s rehabilitative efforts were extraordinary: They did more than “they were supposed to do” and made “concrete gains toward ‘turning [their lives] around.’ ” Sally, 116 F.3d at 81. Based upon their records and the evidence in this case, the most likely con-elusion is that Yeaman and Mendenhall will never commit fraud or any other crime again.
The fourth goal of sentencing is to provide needed educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most effective manner. No one even argues that Yeaman or Men-denhall need such services.
I believe that a departure serves the historical, penological, and statutory purposes of sentencing, even as set forth in the Guidelines. Yet, under the Majority’s mandate, Yeaman and Mendenhall will be returned to prison, perhaps for as many as four years-at a cost to the U.S. taxpayer of roughly a quarter of a million dollars. To me this case illustrates the sheer folly and utter nonsense of offense-based theory, and the need to use corrections-based -sentencing. There is not a shred of evidence that either Yeaman or Mendenhall need re-incarceration. No penologist could hope for better results from the criminal justice delivery system than these repentant, rehabilitated, and now fully functioning and productive individuals.
In closing, I find the quote from Pope’s An Essay on Criticism, a bit ironic. See Maj. Op. fn. 6. The full strain of Pope’s quote, however, is instructive. It reads:
Good nature and good sense must ever join,
To err is human, to forgive, divine.
Because it is human to err, we must employ our good sense and nature, and rise to forgiveness. I cannot see that we have. If ever there is a place where good nature and good sense are not conjoined, it is in the U.S. Sentencing Guideline scheme — a *239mechanical construct that is devoid of feeling. Forgiveness could not possibly have been a flicker in its framers’ eyes. One of the primary goals of sentencing outlined in Section 3742(e)(3) is to “provide just punishment for the offense.” But, law divorced from common sense is seldom just. In my view, this case is no exception.
Hence, I respectfully submit this concurrence and dissent.

. The Majority’s reasoning suggests that, as a defendant’s level of insight, capability, and skill prior to conviction increase, his chances of achieving post-conviction “extraordinary rehabilitation” decrease, because rehabilitative efforts are "expected" from such a defendant.
Thus, under the Majority’s rationale, less troubled defendants need to do more to reach the goal of extraordinary rehabilitation than defendants with few to no skills and highly negative attitudes and behaviors. In my view, this approach unfairly punishes the former. A defendant’s positive behaviors and strengths prior to conviction do not negate his postconviction "commitment to repair and rebuild” his life or render his postconviction behavioral changes less real or significant. Our "definition” of extraordinary rehabilitation simply requires a "truly repentant defendant" who has made "concrete gains toward turning his life around.” Sally, 116 F.3d at 81. Yeaman and Mendenhall have demonstrated the requisite gains for extraordinary rehabilitation. Indeed, the record shows that it is highly unlikely that they will commit another crime. This type of rehabilitation is extraordinary for any criminal to achieve, regardless of his previous background.

. I cannot help noling in the margin that upon Robert Downey Jr.’s re-arrest following a year's sentence in prison, he said “[t]he threat of prison has been eliminated for me. I know I can do time now." Claudia Puig & Kelly Carter, Are Awards Good for Downey? Hollywood's Attention May Not Help Actor Kick Drug Habit, U.S.A. Today, March 15, 2001, at Dl. So much for punishment and prison as a deterrent!