Court Opinion

ID: 9480421
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 07:47:27.775698+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:47:40.662600
License: Public Domain

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I would affirm the sentence. When read in the context of the entire Commentary to section 3E1.1, the “one or more of the actions listed above” referred to in the Background seem me to refer to the specific actions set forth in subsections (a) through (g) of Application Note 1 of the Commentary. Application Note 3 by its very wording assumes that some additional action or factor is necessary to establish a defendant’s acceptance of responsibility, else why would it use the words “[a] guilty plea may provide some evidence”? (Emphasis added.) Here, the district court looked for, and was unable to find, any additional evidence of defendant’s acceptance of responsibility. We have yet to reverse a district court’s finding that a defendant has not accepted responsibility, and I would not do so in this instance.
*194APPENDIX
The following data is drawn from the five largest districts in the Eighth Circuit.
TWO-LEVEL REDUCTION FOR TOTAL GUILTY ACCEPTANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY STAND'D DISTRICTS DISP ■ PLEAS RECEIVED NOT RECEIVED DEVIA'N
Dist. A 231 rH o\° H VO VO H 42» >4 o\° CO H CO o\® G\
Dist. B 268 193 (72%) 4^ CTv o\® <J\ P* o\<> CN VO H lO
Dist. C 249 162 (77%) O ©\® H ^ C4 CO I U) 42» o\® CO
Dist. D 130 rH + r- o\® H ID rH D o\° Cft t D CO O o\® H ID H CO
63 8 +1 (16%) Dist. E -4 VO CJl o\® O 00 £» ^ o\® tO
941 599 150 (80%) (20%) Total CO >4 O o\o VO
[[Image here]]
H = the percentage of criminal defendants
H = the percentage of criminal defendants who plead guilty
= the percentage of defendants who receive the two-point reduction for acceptance of responsibility (U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1)
*195DEFENDANTS WHO PLEAD GUILTY AND RECEIVE TWO-POINT REDUCTION FOR ACCEPTANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY
[[Image here]]
H = defendants who plead guilty
iü = defendants who plead guilty and receive the two-point reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1