Court Opinion

ID: 9481994
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 08:37:17.454557+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:48:42.211230
License: Public Domain

HEANEY, Senior Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in the court’s opinion in all respects but one: I do not believe that the involvement of eight West Meat Company employees was sufficient to make West’s criminal activity “otherwise extensive” within the meaning of guideline section 3B1.1.
Aggravating role enhancements increase a defendant’s offense level “based upon the size of a criminal organization.” U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1 commentary, background. Section 3B1.1 provides that an aggravating role enhancement is appropriate if the defendant was an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor of a criminal activity that “involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive.” U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a), (b).
The word “participants” is a term of art here. The commentary defines “participant” as “a person who is criminally responsible for the commission of the offense.” Id., commentary, application note 1. Thus, if a criminal activity involved five or more persons who were criminally responsible, its organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor should receive an aggravating role enhancement.
The use of the words “or was otherwise extensive” following the phrase “five or more participants” indicates that the guidelines’ drafters considered five or more criminally responsible individuals to constitute an “extensive” criminal organization. It also indicates that some greater number of individuals not rising to the level of “participants” is required to constitute an “otherwise extensive” organization. If an “otherwise extensive” organization did not require a number of actors greater than the number of “participants” required for an “extensive” organization, the drafters would have seen no need to distinguish between an organization with five or more participants and one that was otherwise extensive by virtue of the involvement of other, possibly unwitting, individuals. If the involvement of any five individuals, irrespective of their criminal responsibility, were sufficient to constitute an otherwise extensive organization, the preceding clause requiring five or more participants would be rendered a nullity.
*534Section 3B1.1 and its commentary thus make clear that more than five non-“participants” are needed to make an organization “otherwise extensive.” The commentary gives little guidance, however, as to how many more than five are required. Application note 2 gives this example: “a fraud that involved only three participants but used the unknowing services of many outsiders could be considered extensive.” Id., commentary, application note 2 (emphasis added).
The majority finds that the involvement of at least eight West Meat Company employees in the offense renders West’s criminal organization “otherwise extensive.” Both West and his father are included in the total of eight, however, and each of them fits the definition of “participant.” The majority thus concludes that the involvement of six additional West employees was sufficient to constitute an “otherwise extensive” organization. Implicit in this conclusion is a finding that the number of non-“participant” actors required for an “otherwise extensive” organization exceeds the number of “participants” required for an “extensive” organization by only a single individual. This interpretation renders meaningless the distinction drawn in the guideline between an organization with five or more participants and one that is otherwise extensive.
Even if I could agree with the majority’s interpretation of “otherwise extensive,” I would remand this case for resentencing on another ground. It is by no means clear from the sentencing transcript that the district court based West’s aggravating role enhancement on the involvement of a sufficient number of West employees to constitute an “otherwise extensive” organization. The presentence investigation report (PSI) recommended a three-level adjustment because West “was a manager or supervisor of a criminal activity that included five or more participants.”
In addressing West’s objection to this recommendation, the court stated:
The Court finds these objections are not well taken. There were indeed more than five participants, directed and employed by defendant, and it is not necessary that they be convicted to be a participant, criminally responsible for commission of an offense. As to the numbers, at least eight former employees of Defendant West Meat Company knowingly or unknowingly participated in the instant offense of which this defendant was an organizer and leader, and the participant may be criminally responsible for the commission of an offense, though not convicted. Where criminal activities [are] otherwise extensive, it is provided that all persons involved during the course of the entire offense, both knowing and unknowing, are to be considered. The Court does so consider them, and these objections to paragraph 20 of this objection will be overruled.
Sentencing Transcript at 12-13. The district court thus found that the organization involved not only five participants, but also at least eight knowing or unknowing former employees.
The district court’s remarks reflect some confusion as to the distinction between a participant and an unknowing actor. Discerning which clause of section 3B1.1 the court based West’s sentence enhancement on is not so simple as the majority suggests. The PSI premised its recommendation on the existence of five or more participants, and West objected to this recommendation. The district court should have made a clear and precise finding as to the number of actors involved and their level of criminal responsibility before enhancing West’s sentence under section 3B1.1. The above-quoted ruling lacks such a finding. Accordingly, I would vacate West’s sentence and remand this case to the district court for a clarification of the reason for the imposition of the aggravating role enhancement prior to resentencing.