Court Opinion

ID: 9499111
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:38:08.087473+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:53:09.295296
License: Public Domain

DAMON J. KEITH, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I am saddened and distressed by the majority’s opinion, which totally disregards the district court’s authority to impose a fair and reasonable sentence that is “sufficient but not greater than necessary” to effectuate the purposes of sentencing. Reversing the district court’s sentence is a complete miscarriage of justice. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
*501For years, district court judges have grappled with mandatory sentencing guidelines that constrained their power to impose just sentences. In United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), the Supreme Court granted district courts the power to evaluate the circumstances of each case and make an individualized sentencing determination. Regrettably, the majority’s holding, finding Davis’s sentence substantively unreasonable, strips the district courts of its power to issue a reasonable sentence in accordance with the now advisory sentencing guidelines. Here, in accordance with Booker, the district court complied with the Supreme Court’s mandate. Therefore, I cannot agree with the majority’s holding.
Booker drastically changed the sentencing guidelines. As the guidelines are advisory, the district courts must now consider the applicable guideline range along with the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and make an individualized sentencing determination. Booker, 543 U.S. at 261, 125 S.Ct. 738. The Guidelines are now “generalized recommendations about the range of sentences appropriate for certain crimes committed by individuals with certain backgrounds.” United States v. Buchanan, 449 F.3d 731, 736 (6th Cir.2006) (J. Sutton, concurring). The majority properly finds that the district court’s sentence was procedurally reasonable, but erroneously finds the substantive sentence unreasonable. See Majority Op. at 4. I cannot concur with the majority’s holding because (1) the majority opinion fails to properly defer to the district court and (2) the district court, viewing the totality of the facts, properly found extraordinary circumstances to justify the departure from the advisory guideline range.
I. Deference to the District Court
The majority finds that the variance in this case justifies finding the sentence substantively unreasonable. Other circuits have accorded the district courts proper deference and sustained below the guideline sentences as reasonable where the district court adequately evaluated the factors set forth in § 3553(a). See United States v. Krutsinger, 449 F.3d 827 (8th Cir.2006) (affirming co-defendants’ sentences of 21 and 24 months that were below the 100 to 125 and 70 to 87 advisory guideline ranges, respectively); United States v. Gray, 453 F.3d 1323 (11th Cir.2006) (affirming 72 month sentence that was below the advisory range of 151 to 188 months); United States v. Halsema, 2006 WL 1229005 (11th Cir. May 9, 2006) (unpublished) (affirming 24 month sentence that was below the advisory range of 57 to 71 months as reasonable); United States v. Baker, 445 F.3d 987 (7th Cir.2006) (affirming 87 month sentence that was below the advisory range of 108 to 135 months as reasonable); United States v. Montgomery, 165 Fed.Appx. 840 (11th Cir. Feb.7, 2006) (unpublished) (affirming 8 month sentence that was below the advisory range as reasonable); United States v. Williams, 435 F.3d 1350 (11th Cir.2006) (affirming a 90 month sentence that was below the advisory range of 188 to 235 months as reasonable).
The current trend across the circuits is to afford less deference to district court sentences that depart below the advisory guideline range over sentences that depart upward from the advisory guideline range. See, United States v. Mack, 452 F.3d 744 (8th Cir.2006) (reversing an above the guideline sentence as unreasonable); United States v. Davenport, 445 F.3d 366 (4th Cir.2006) (same); United States v. Castro-Juarez, 425 F.3d 430 (7th Cir.2005) (same). This holding cannot be reconciled with Booker, which instructs the appellate courts to review a sentence for reasonableness regardless of where the sentence falls in relation to the advisory guidelines *502range. Booker, 543 U.S. at 260, 125 S.Ct. 738 (stating that the standard of review is reasonableness and directing the court to review whether a case is reasonable utilizing the factors set forth in § 3553(a)).
The majority also reduces the evaluation of the district court’s sentence to a formulaic assessment of how much the sentence varies from the advisory guideline range to determine whether the defendant’s sentence is unreasonable. In engaging in this mechanical assessment, the majority starts this Court down the path of the pre-Roofcer days where the district courts were bound by an algebraic application of the guidelines. This precedent will inevitably lead to the district courts feeling reluctant to ever impose a sentence below the advisory guideline range for fear of reversal at the appellate level. See Williams, 435 F.3d at 1354 fn. 2 (disagreeing with a mechanical application of the guidelines the Court stated that “[ajfter Booker, the sentencing Guidelines are advisory, and the sentencing court, in its own discretion, can move below the advisory Guideline range without a motion for a downward departure as long as the resulting sentence is reasonable.”). See also United States v. Gaskill, 991 F.2d 82, 86 (3rd Cir.1993) (stating that “[district judges, therefore, need not shrink from utilizing departures when the opportunity presents itself and when circumstances require such action to bring about a fair and reasonable sentence.”). In this case, the district court imposed a sentence that is fair and reasonable in light of the totality of the circumstances.
II. Extraordinary circumstances exist to justify the variance
The principal issue the majority addresses is whether in this case extraordinary circumstances exist to justify such a large variance from the advisory guidelines range. The majority states that “[f]ew would disagree that we have an extraordinary variance in this case — from a guidelines range of 30 to 37 months to one day, to what the government refers to as a 99.98% variance — so the question is whether extraordinary circumstances justify the full amount of the variance.” Majority Op. at 5. Sentencing Davis within the advisory guidelines would mean that he would receive a sentence ranging from two and one-half years to three years. Disturbingly, Davis would not be released from prison until he is seventy-five years old.
The totality of the circumstances, however, demonstrate extraordinary conditions to justify the district court’s sentence. When making its decision, the district court considered the following factors: (1) Davis’s age; (2) the fourteen year time period between the offense and sentencing; (3) the fact that his crime was not a crime of violence; (4) the fact that Davis has had no further criminal activity since this offense; (5) his being unemployed and receiving social security; (6) his declaring bankruptcy; and (7) his grandchildren. Although when taken individually these factors may not justify a variance from the advisory guideline range, when considered collectively they do. In addition, the district court made a specific finding stating that “the defendant is, in effect, rehabilitated by the passage of time.” (J.A. 411) This is evinced by the fact that for over fourteen years Davis has not had any contact with the law. In addition, the district court found that Davis at seventy years old is not likely to engage in further illegal business pursuits. The court also stated that “[a]s far as deterrence is concerned, frankly, it wouldn’t, in this [cjourt’s opinion, matter what sentence [the court] imposed, it could be a day, it could be 10 years or anything in between, that would be sufficient to deter this defendant from committing further crimes.” Id. While each factor considered separately might *503not justify a variance from the guidelines, viewing these facts together, justice is in no way served by this Court remanding for the district court to impose a higher sentence. The totality of the circumstances undoubtedly shows that this is an extraordinary case where the circumstances justify a variance of this magnitude.
The district court did not order restitution because Davis is currently unemployed, has declared bankruptcy, and is receiving social security while his wife works as a bank teller. Moreover, since Davis committed the offense fourteen years ago, he has not engaged in any further criminal conduct. The district court also properly considered the fact that Davis is married and has moved to Ohio to be with his children and two grandchildren. More importantly, his fraud conviction was not a crime of violence. The district court properly noted that Davis was retired from his business and he was no longer a threat to public safety.
The district court also considered the fourteen year lapse between the offense conduct and his sentence. The majority asserts that the variance was not justified when the consideration of time intervals appears no where in § 3553(a) factors, there was no statute of limitations violation, no speedy trial claims, nor did the government have a malicious intent to delay the process. See Majority Op. at 5. The majority also asserts that delay in itself is not an independent reason for a departure.
While delay does not appear within the guidelines, § 3553(a) permits the district court to consider any pertinent policy statement in the guidelines manual, which includes departures. Prior to Booker, this Court acknowledged that a downward departure may be based on the aggregation of factors each of which might in itself be insufficient to justify a departure. United States v. Coleman, 188 F.3d 354, 360 (6th Cir.1999) (en banc). Further, Booker’s advisory holding permits district courts to depart more freely than prior to Booker and consider factors outside of the standard guideline departures. Given these considerations, the district court properly considered the time between Davis’s criminal conduct and his sentencing.
The majority minimizes the lapse in time stating that through the ordinary course of criminal proceedings (ie. the investigation prior to the indictment, Davis’s bankruptcy, the jury trial and his appealing his sentence) his sentencing was delayed through no fault of the prosecution. Fourteen years is unjustifiable. Cf. Doggett v. United States, 505 U.S. 647, 112 S.Ct. 2686, 120 L.Ed.2d 520 (1992) (under speedy trial act finding six year delay violated defendant’s constitutional rights); United States v. Brown, 169 F.3d 344, 351 (6th Cir.1999) (under speedy trial act finding a five and one-half year delay violated defendant’s constitutional rights); United States v. Graham, 128 F.3d 372, 376 (6th Cir.1997) (under speedy trial act finding eight year delay violated defendant’s constitutional rights). The record does not show any exigent circumstances to justify this delay. During this time, Davis has had to deal with the emotional stresses that resulted from the delay in prosecuting this case. Even though the passage of time does not appear as a factor to be considered anywhere in § 3553, this is an extraordinary factor that should not be discounted or ignored.
The majority also improperly finds that Davis’s, age along with other factors did not justify the variance from the advisory guidelines. Davis’s age was significant because it is connected with the unreasonable passage of time. In addition, the district court properly found that at seventy years old Davis would not engage in similar *504criminal business activities, nor does he have the financial capacity to do so where he filed for bankruptcy and his only source of income is social security. Further, Davis has gone fourteen years without committing any additional criminal offenses. Specifically, the district court articulated that Davis had reached an age where he would not engage in similar business pursuits. See United States Sentencing Commission, Measuring Recidivism: The Criminal History Computation of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, at 12 (stating that “recidivism rates decline relatively consistently as age increases,” from 35.5% under age 21, to 9.5% over age 50).
While not directly relying on United States v. Tocco, 200 F.3d 401, 434 (6th Cir.2000), the majority cites this case for the proposition that “the notion that the status of being 70 years old makes serving any prison time pointless is far from self-evident.” Majority Op. at 499. This case incorrectly equates serving a prison term and the conditions of prison to the mental capacity necessary to serve as a federal judge. Further, Tocco is remarkably different from the facts of this case. Tocco was involved in the Detroit branch of a national Mafia organization. Tocco was convicted in a jury trial for his involvement in illegal activities such as extortion, illegal lotteries, book making, loansharking, and acquiring undisclosed and illegal investments. Tocco, 200 F.3d at 410. The district court sentenced Tocco to twelve months and one day in prison concurrently for three counts. The district court departed downward ten levels from the applicable guideline range. The district court determined that this case was an extraordinary case, outside the heartland of cases because of Tocco’s overwhelming community service, his age and debilitating health, and his wife’s poor health. Id. at 427. The government appealed the sentence contending that the ten level departure was not proper. This Court remanded for the district court to reconsider its departure. This Court was justified in discounting Tocco’s age because Tocco was still active in his illegal business. In contrast, Davis is not involved in his business, is currently receiving social security, and has not been involved in any criminal activities for the past fourteen years.
Certainly, the district court properly exercised its discretion finding that Davis’s age in connection with other factors warranted departing below the advisory guideline range. Contrary to the majority’s assertion, this is a rare case where fourteen years have elapsed between the indictment and the sentence, the defendant is seventy years old, has filed for bankruptcy, and retired from the business pursuits through which the fraud charged stemmed. Given the unique facts in this case, including the time interval and Davis’s age, the district court’s sentence was sufficient to achieve the purposes articulated in the sentencing guidelines.
III. Conclusion
My principal concern with the majority’s holding is that it establishes a precedent whereby this Court is micromanaging the sentencing process and second guessing the district court’s determination after presiding over the hearings. United States v. Jones, 445 F.3d 865, 871 (6th Cir.2006) (cautioning that the appellate courts should not engage in “appellate micromanaging of the sentencing process”); see also United States v. Medearis, 451 F.3d 918, 922 (8th Cir.2006) (stating that “[sjentencing courts have the unique ability to appraise the evidence and personally assess a defendant.”). When the district court effectively engages in the correct procedural process and exercises its discretion to impose an individualized sentence, the appellate courts should have limited authority to micromanage the dis*505trict courts. When the district court has spoken to the defendant in person, had a chance to evaluate Davis’s demeanor, weighed all of the facts and heard all of the evidence in support of sentencing, the appellate courts should not second guess the district court.
Respectfully, I cannot concur in a judgment where the majority authorizes this Court to substitute its own judgment for that of the district court to depart below the advisory guidelines range. The majority improperly chooses to substitute its opinion under the extraordinary circumstances that I have enunciated in this dissent and therefore takes away the discretionary authority of the district court. If the district court under these extraordinary circumstances, and after making a specific finding that Davis has been “rehabilitated by the passage of time” — a finding which still has not been deemed clearly erroneous — does not have the discretion to impose an individualized sentence, then I ask who should? Certainty not the appellate court. This case is the prime example of extraordinary circumstances where the district court, in compliance with § 3553(a), imposed a sentence that was “sufficient but not greater than necessary” to effectuate the purposes of sentencing. The district court, in my judgment, has not abused its discretion. I therefore vigorously dissent.