White Collar Crime Prof Blog

Downward Variances at the District Court: Beware of Pyrrhic Victories

This week's Sentencing Guidelines opinion from the Third Circuit in United States v. Negroni underscores the importance of forcing district courts to create an adequate record at sentencing hearings. Paul Negroni and James Hall IV pled guilty to mail and wire fraud, among other crimes. They were knowing participants in a massive fraud scheme. Hall's original Guidelines range was 87-108 months, reduced to 46-57 months after the district court struck Paragraph 45 of the PSR, which had provided the factual support for a 6-level "250 or more victims" enhancement. The judge then downwardly varied to a 15 month sentence. Negroni's Guidelines range was 70-87 months. The judge downardly varied to a probated sentence with 9 months home detention. The Third Circuit vacated both sentences, because of the procedural unreasonablemess of the downward variances, and remanded for resentencing, I have commented previously on the disturbing trend in federal circuit courts of reversing downward variances based on alleged procedural irregularities, thereby gutting Gall and Kimbrough. The Fourth Circuit is particularly notorious for this.

But district judges must step up to the plate and do their part. In Negroni, the sentencing court struck Paragraph 45 of Hall's PSR, but clearly failed to articulate on the record its reason for doing so. The district court also failed to adequately articulate the substantial downward variance it granted to Negroni. Instead, like so many sentencing judges, it rather rotely recited the Section 3553 factors without intelligently discussing most of them or specifically applying them to the facts of Negroni's case and personal history.

It is really not that hard for a district judge to make an adequate procedural record. Defense counsel must force the sentencing court to discuss each Section 3553 factor and apply it in some fashion to a defendant's unique circumstances. How does counsel do this? By literally providing, in writing and in advance, a paint-by-numbers guidebook for the court. I do not know if that was attempted in Negroni. Perhaps it was. It is not always psychologically easy, in the midst of a hearing, to convince a judge who is ruling in your favor to touch all the bases. But don't kid yourself--the circuit courts are waiting, and itching, to send these babies back. Better to educate the district court beforehand, through your sentencing memorandum, about the procedural requirements for a downward variance.

Here is the opinion. Hat tip to Greg Poe for sending this decision our way.

(wisenberg)

 

In the News & Around the Blogosphere

Campbell Robertson, NYTimes, Hunting for Bargains After a Titan’s Fall: Everything Must Go (discussing yard sale of Richard Scrushy's Items)

Boston.com, AP, Lawyer in RI corruption case plans not to testify

Press Release, Greenberg Traurig Expands its Dallas Office With the Addition of Victor Vital

DOJ Press Release, Former Owner of Illinois Technology Company Pleads Guilty in Multi-State Scheme to Defraud the Federal E-Rate Program

DOJ Press Release, Former Administrative Assistant to U.S. Senator Charged with Making Prohibited Communications to Senate Office

DOJ Press Release, Former TBW Financial Analyst Pleads Guilty to $1.5 Billion Fraud Scheme

David Voreacos, Bloomberg Businessweek, Sokol Seen as Showing Poor Judgment While Violating No U.S. Laws

WSJ, AP, Developer in NJ corruption sting gets 41 months

David Ingram, BLT Blog, DOJ Programs Office Faces Budget Pressure

DOJ Press Release, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Two Men in a $10 Million Commercial Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme

 Brad Heath, USA Today, Justice in Balance Series  (also check out the 201 cases here)

Amanda Bronstad, NLJ, Evidence suppressed in FCPA prosecution

(esp)

New ABA Website Features U.S. and International Anti-Corruption News and Peer-Reviewed Analysis by and for Practitioners

The American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section is launching a new website that provides up-to-date, practitioner-oriented information and analysis on global anti-corruption matters. Managed by the section’s Global Anti-Corruption Task Force, the site features, among other unique categories of information:

Peer-reviewed articles and analysis from practitioners worldwide;

Up-to-date news reports;

Extensive online resource links;

A library of presentations; and

Notices of upcoming anti-corruption events and seminars.

The task force provides a neutral, practitioner-focused online resource to monitor, evaluate and report on anti-corruption news and developments in transnational anti-bribery efforts. Focus is on the interplay between anti-corruption governmental efforts and the effect that those efforts have on global commerce and business development.

The website’s distinguishing features are: a) all published articles are peer-reviewed and available free of charge online; b) its subject-matter focus covers the globe, and not just the United States; c) published pieces come from leading practitioners and industry leaders from all over the world; and d) its objective is to provide news and analysis that is "for and by" practitioners who are looking for the latest developments and insights in the ever-changing global anti-corruption arena.

The site also provides extensive real-time news announcements and reports on criminal and regulatory enforcement activities relating to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as well as similar international instruments such as the United Kingdom Bribery Act, the German Anti-Corruption Act, Russia’s National Plan for Counteraction to Corruption, and the U.N. Convention Against Corruption.

The Global Anti-Corruption Task Force is co-chaired by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros (in his personal capacity) and Perkins Coie Investigations and White Collar Defense Group partner (and former Assistant U.S. Attorney) T. Markus Funk.

A link to the task force website is available here.

(esp)