United States v. Barney Canada, A/K/A Byron Levon Canada

960 F.2d 263, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 5794, 1992 WL 63517
CourtCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit
DecidedApril 2, 1992
Docket91-1691
StatusPublished
Cited by150 cases

This text of 960 F.2d 263 (United States v. Barney Canada, A/K/A Byron Levon Canada) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the First Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Barney Canada, A/K/A Byron Levon Canada, 960 F.2d 263, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 5794, 1992 WL 63517 (1st Cir. 1992).

Opinion

LEVIN H. CAMPBELL, Senior Circuit Judge.

Defendant, Barney Canada, a/k/a Byron Levon Canada, appeals from his sentence following a guilty plea. A principal issue is whether remarks made by the Assistant United States Attorney during sentencing amounted to a repudiation of the plea bargain.

Canada was charged with operating an “advance fee scheme” in which he and several coconspirators would induce unsuspecting individuals to pay advance fees — to be held in escrow — in exchange for the *265 promise to arrange financing for projects on which these individuals sought to embark. In the end Canada and his coconspir-ators would keep the fees without producing the promised financing. A grand jury indicted Canada on 26 counts charging him with conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341; wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; inducing interstate transportation for fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314; aiding and abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2; and bankruptcy fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 152. Canada pleaded guilty to all 26 counts pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement with the government, memorialized in a four-page letter which we attach as an appendix.

The plea agreement provided essentially as follows. In exchange for Canada’s guilty plea and cooperation, the government would forego prosecution of Canada for certain conduct known to the government after the indictment. The government would recommend that the district court impose a sentence of 36 months incarceration. And the government would inform the Probation Department and the court of “this agreement ... [and] the full nature and extent” of Canada’s cooperation. The agreement was expressly premised on certain described calculations under the guidelines, including an assumed criminal history category of II, and a two-level reduction in offense level for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, resulting in a guideline range of 30-37 months. These calculations nowhere included any enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1 of Canada’s offense level for the role of manager or supervisor in the criminal activity.

After a hearing, Canada was sentenced in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts to a term of imprisonment of 48 months — a sentence one year longer than the government’s recommended 36 months. The court selected this term from a guideline range of 46 to 57 months. In calculating this range, the court found that Canada fell within criminal history category III; granted a two-point reduction for the acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1; and imposed a three-point enhancement for Canada’s supervisory role in the offense under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1. The court also ordered Canada to make restitution in the amount of $1.8 million.'

Canada contends his sentence was infected by two errors. First, he contends that the court’s imposition of a three-level enhancement for his alleged supervisory role in the offense was improper. Second, Canada argues that the government breached its plea agreement with him by urging the court to impose a higher sentence than that upon which it had agreed, and by failing to inform the court of the full extent of Canada’s cooperation with the government as promised in the plea agreement. We reject Canada’s first argument, but agree that the government did not live up to the terms of its plea agreement. Accordingly, we vacate Canada’s sentence and remand for resentencing before a different judge.

I.

At the sentencing hearing, the district court stated,

the record is clear, that at least as among the defendants in the case, Mr. Canada was at least a manager or supervisor for part of the time of this exercise. The record is also clear that the criminal activity was extensive.... I think it is entirely appropriate to add three levels under 3Bl.l(b). 1

Canada does not challenge the court’s above determination on its merits. Rather, Canada complains, (1) that he was not given proper advance notice that his manage *266 rial or supervisory role in the offense would be an issue at the sentencing hearing; and (2) that he was not given advance notice that the court would rely on testimony and evidence adduced at proceedings against his codefendants in assessing his role in the offense. We find no merit in these contentions.

In contending he had no notice that his role in the offense would be an issue at the sentencing hearing, Canada points out that the presentence report did not assess his leadership or supervision of his codefend-ants. Rather, the report stated that “Conformation as to the defendant’s specific role in the offense was requested but never received and thus there is no basis on which to base any adjustment.” Canada also notes — and the government appears to concede 2 — that during plea negotiations, the government indicated that it would not seek enhancement based on Canada’s role in the offense. Consequently, he argues, he was taken by surprise when the judge raised the issue at his sentencing hearing. Canada asserts that under the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Burns v. United States, — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 2182, 115 L.Ed.2d 123 (1991), it was incumbent upon the court to notify him in advance that it planned to consider any upward adjustment not recommended in the presentence report. We disagree.

In Burns, the Supreme Court held that “before a district court can depart upward on a ground not identified as a ground for upward departure either in the presentence report or in a presentencing submission by the Government, Rule 32 requires that the district court give the parties reasonable notice that it is contemplating such a ruling.” Bur ns, 111 S.Ct. at 2187 (emphasis supplied). 3 Burns, however, dealt with a court’s sua sponte decision to depart upward from the guidelines. Citing Rule 32’s mandate that the parties be given “an opportunity to comment upon the probation officer’s determination and on other matters relating to the appropriate sentence,” and noting that “whether a sua sponte departure from the Guidelines would be legally and factually warranted is a ‘matte[r] relating to the appropriate sentence,’ ” the Court reasoned that “it makes no sense to impute to Congress an intent that a defendant have the right to comment on the appropriateness of a sua sponte departure but not the right to be notified that the court is contemplating such a ruling.” Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
960 F.2d 263, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 5794, 1992 WL 63517, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-barney-canada-aka-byron-levon-canada-ca1-1992.