United States v. Garcia
United States v. Garcia
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
This federal prisoner appeals his sentence of imprisonment entered upon his plea of guilty to providing or possessing contraband in prison, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1791(a)(2). The parties have expressly waived oral argument. Upon examination, this panel unanimously agrees that oral argument is not needed. Fed. R.App. P. 34(a).
Julio Garcia received a social visit while he was an inmate in the Federal Correctional Institution in Memphis, Tennessee.
In his timely appeal, Garcia contends that: 1) the assessment of two criminal history points pursuant to § 4Al.l(d) and one criminal history point pursuant to § 4Al.l(e), constitutes impermissible double counting; 2) the district court erred in not departing downward under § 4A1.3; and 3) the district court erred in not departing downward under § 5K2.0.
This court reviews de novo a district court’s legal conclusions regarding the application of the guidelines. United States v. Edwards, 272 F.3d 812, 815 (6th Cir. 2001); United States v. Hurst, 228 F.3d 751, 756 (6th Cir. 2000).
Upon review, we conclude that the district court did not err in assessing Garcia two criminal history points pursuant to § 4Al.l(d) and one criminal history point pursuant to § 4Al.l(e). Impermissible double counting occurs when “precisely the same aspect of a defendant’s conduct factors into his sentence in two separate ways.” United States v. Farrow, 198 F.3d 179, 193 (6th Cir. 1999) (citing United States v. Perkins, 89 F.3d 303, 310 (6th Cir. 1996)).
The enhancements to Garcia’s criminal history score pursuant to § 4Al.l(d) and (e) do not derive from the same conduct. The § 4Al.l(d) increase is based on Garcia being under a criminal justice sentence at the time of the offense, and the § 4Al.l(e) increase is based on Garcia’s incarceration at the time of the offense. Though imprisonment may be the typical way to serve a criminal justice sentence and is specifically enumerated in § 4Al.l(d), it is not the only way to be under a criminal justice sentence. As § 4Al.l(d) provides, a person may be under a criminal justice sentence if he is on probation, parole, supervised release, work release, or escape status. The Guidelines definition of “criminal justice sentence” provides that there may be other ways to serve a criminal justice sentence so long as there is a certain custodial or supervisory component. USSG § 4A1.1, comment, (n. 4).
Moreover, not all instances of double counting are impermissible. Double counting is permitted when “it appears that Congress or the Sentencing Commission intended to attach multiple penalties to the same conduct.” Farrow, 198 F.3d at 194. The Sentencing Guidelines take the double-counting argument into account by providing for only one point under § 4Al.l(e) when two points are added under subsection (d). See United States v. Frieberger, 28 F.3d 916, 920 (8th Cir. 1994).
Garcia’s second and third arguments on appeal are not cognizable. He contends that the district court erred in not departing downward under § 4A1.3. and erred in not departing downward under § 5K2.0. A district court’s failure to depart downward is not cognizable on appeal when the guideline range is properly computed, the court is aware of its discretion to depart downward, and the sentence does not violate the Guidelines or federal law. United States v. Moore, 225 F.3d 637, 643 (6th Cir. 2000); United States v. Pickett, 941 F.2d 411, 417 (6th Cir. 1991). In the absence of ambiguous statements by the district court concerning its discretion, there is a presumption that the court
Accordingly, the district court’s judgment is hereby affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Julio GARCIA
- Status
- Published