Court Opinion

ID: 9497819
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:00:46.285231+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:58:26.175671
License: Public Domain

GRUENDER, Circuit Judge,
concurring in the judgment.
I concur in the judgment of the Court because I agree that Sayre’s sentence should be affirmed. I write separately, however, because I believe that Sayre’s challenge to the constitutionality of the sentencing guidelines deserves only plain-error review.
The district court found that Sayre’s conduct in planning to murder a witness was an aggravating circumstance present to a degree not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission and imposed a 4-level upward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.0. That upward departure raised Sayre’s sentencing range from to 27-33 months to 41-51 months, and the district court sentenced Sayre to 48 months’ imprisonment. Sayre objected only to the upward departure during proceedings before the district court.
As a preliminary matter, I conclude that the district court did not commit error in departing upward and imposing a 48-month sentence. Section 5K2.0 allows the district court to depart upward if it determines that the circumstances that form the basis for the departure were of a kind or present to a degree not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission in- determining the applicable guideline range. See United States v. Bolden, 368 F.3d 1032, 1035-36 (8th Cir.2004). In this case, the district court properly concluded that Sayre’s conduct involved aggravating circumstances present to a degree not adequately taken into consideration in formulating the guideline ranges for extortion and obstruction of justice. See U.S.S.G. §§ 2C1.1 and 3C1.1. Sayre was a sitting state trial judge who accepted bribés in exchange for favorable rulings for a criminal defendant appearing before him. Sayre then conspired to kill the per*602son who bribed him when Sayre learned that person was cooperating with law enforcement regarding Sayre’s acceptance of the brides. Under these facts, the district court correctly held that Sayre’s conduct involved aggravating circumstances not normally present in cases of extortion and obstruction of justice. For these reasons, the district court’s upward departure was proper under Section 5K2.0.
While appealing the district court’s upward departure under the guidelines, Sayre sought leave to file a supplemental brief regarding Blakely v. Washington, — U.S. -, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), arguing that the federal sentencing guidelines may be unconstitutional. I agree with the opinion of the Court that this motion was sufficient to bring the constitutionality of mandatory guidelines to óur attention. I also agree that despite constitutional error under United States v. Booker, — U.S. -, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), Sayre’s sentence should be affirmed.
As the Court’s opinion notes, Sayre cannot argue that the district court violated his Sixth Amendment rights because all of the facts the district court relied upon in determining Sayre’s sentence were either admitted or deemed to be admitted when Sayre did not object to their inclusion in the Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”). See Booker, 125 S.Ct. at 756; United States v. Cramer, No. 04-1129, 396 F.3d 960, 965, 2005 U.S.App. LEXIS 1707, at *13 (citing United States v. Bougie, 279 F.3d 648, 650 (8th Cir.2002)).
Because the district court did not Violate Sayre’s Sixth Amendment rights, he could only argue that the court erred in sentencing him under the belief that the sentencing guidelines were mandatory. See Booker, 125 S.Ct. at 769. Although the opinion of the Court refers to “[s]ome question” about the requirements to preserve Booker error in cases without a Sixth Amendment violation, it is well established that contemporaneous objections stating the grounds upon which relief is sought are required to preserve an issue for appellate review. United States v. Quam, 367 F.3d 1006, 1007-08 (8th Cir.2004); Fed R.Crim. P. 51(b) (“A party may preserve a claim of error by informing the court — when the court ruling or order is made or sought— of ... the party’s objection to the court’s action and the grounds for that objection.”).4 Applying our “ordinary prudential doctrines” regarding appellate review, I would hold that a defendant must object to either the constitutionality of the guidelines or their mandatory application in order to preserve Booker error. See Booker, 125 S.Ct. at 769 (“[W]e expect reviewing courts to apply ordinary prudential doctrines, determining, for example, whether the issue was raised below and whether it fails the ‘plain-error’ test.”).
In this case, Sayre objected only to the upward departure during proceedings before the district court. At no time during sentencing or any other proceeding before the district court did he object to the constitutionality of the guidelines or their mandatory application. Because I believe Sayre failed to preserve this issue, I would review for plain error only. See United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 734, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993); United States v. Franklin, No. 04-1937, 397 F.3d *603604, 607, 2005 U.S.App. LEXIS 1878, at *6 (8th Cir. Feb. 7, 2005). By applying a plain error standard to the analysis contained in the Court’s opinion, I reach the same conclusion, that Sayre’s sentence should be affirmed, because I agree that by departing upward, the district court effectively treated the guidelines as advisory and that, as a result, re-sentencing would be futile. Finally, following Justice Breyer’s remedial majority in Booker, Sayre’s sentence reflects a reasonable application of the factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Booker, 125 S.Ct. at 765-66.
For the above reasons, I concur in the judgment of the Court.

. In United States v. Fox, 396 F.3d 1018, 1027 (8th Cir.2005), and United States v. Selwyn, No. 04-2164, 398 F.3d 1064, 1066, 2005 U.S.App. LEXIS 3122, at *5-*6 (8th Cir. Feb. 23, 2005), this Court briefly considered whether an objection to drug quantities was sufficient to preserve Sixth Amendment violations under Booker. This case does not involve a Sixth Amendment violation, and this Court has not addressed what objection would be sufficient to preserve Booker error without a Sixth Amendment violation.