United States v. Barton

366 F.3d 1160, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 8771, 2004 WL 945117
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedMay 4, 2004
Docket03-1112
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 366 F.3d 1160 (United States v. Barton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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. Barton, 366 F.3d 1160, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 8771, 2004 WL 945117 (10th Cir. 2004).

Opinions

BRISCOE, Circuit Judge.

Defendant Terry Lynn Barton pled guilty to setting fire to inflammable materials on federal lands, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1855, and making a false statement within the jurisdiction of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. The presentence investigation report (PSR), citing the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3663A, recommended that Barton be ordered to reimburse the United States Forest Service for monies expended in revegetating fire-damaged forest land. Although Barton did not object to the recommendation, [1162]*1162the district court refused to order restitution, citing the alleged complexity of determining the Forest Service’s loss, as well as the effect an order of restitution would have on Barton given her limited financial resources.

Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we agree with the government that the district court erred in not imposing restitution. Because the amount of restitution recommended in the PSR was based on actual recoverable loss incurred by a victim of Barton’s crime, and because Barton did not object to the recommendation, the “complexity” exception of the MVRA was not triggered. Further, we agree with the government that Barton’s financial circumstances were irrelevant under the MVRA. We therefore reverse and remand with directions to the district court to impose restitution in the amount proposed by the government.

I.

In the spring of 2002, Barton was employed by the Forest Service and assigned to the Pike National Forest in Colorado. Her duties primarily focused on the making and maintaining of trails for all-terrain vehicles. As of early June 2002, however, she was also responsible for patrolling dispersed campsites in the Forest to enforce a campfire ban that had been issued by the Forest Service due to unseasonably dry conditions. While Barton was working in the Forest on the afternoon of June 8, 2002, she radioed for help in suppressing a wildland fire. Although additional personnel responded to Barton’s call, the fire spread rapidly due to high temperatures, low relative humidity, and high winds. Over a period of 17 days, the fire, which became known as the Hayman Fire, engulfed and damaged approximately 138,000 acres of land, the majority of which was located within the Forest and owned by the United States.

Government officials conducted an investigation to determine the origin of the fire and Barton was interviewed on three separate occasions. During her final interview on June 15, 2002, Barton admitted she started the fire. She indicated that, while on duty in the Forest on June 8, 2002, she used a campfire ring to burn a letter from her estranged husband and left without ensuring that the fire was extinguished. When she returned to the scene, the fire had grown out of control and she radioed for help.

Barton was indicted on four federal criminal charges and, as part of an agreement with the government, pled guilty to setting fire to inflammable materials on federal lands and making a false statement within the jurisdiction of the United States.1 The plea agreement acknowledged that “restitution [was] to be determined by the Court.” App. at 27. Notwithstanding that provision, the plea agreement noted the parties had stipulated that “the damage to timber on federal lands and other materials and to the watershed [wa]s approximately $38 million dollars.” Id. at 31.

Following the entry of Barton’s guilty plea, the government addressed a letter to the probation office outlining its views on the damages sustained by the government as a result of the fire. Although the letter briefly discussed how the parties arrived at the $38 million dollar loss figure contained in the plea agreement, it stated the [1163]*1163government was “not seeking a restitution order ... reflecting the loss to actual forest lands damaged by the fire nor suppression costs.” Id. at 155. Instead, the letter expressed the government’s belief “that a restitution order to the United States Forest Service in the amount of $14,671,510.00 [wa]s not only appropriate but mandated by law.” Id. The letter stated that “[t]his amount ha[d] been expended by the government to implement emergency revege-tation in the Hayman Fire area” and “was compelled by the imminent threat to the deforested burn area posed by erosion.” Id.

The amount of stipulated damages was noted in the PSR in a section entitled “Victim Impact,” but the PSR further noted the government was only “seeking restitution in the amount of $14,671,510,” representing “the expenditures to date by the United States government to implement emergency revegetation in the Hayman fire area.” Id. at 111. Noting the mandatory restitution provisions of the MVRA, the PSR recommended “that [Barton] be ordered to make restitution” to the “USDA Forest Service” in the amount of $14,671,510. Id. at 129. The PSR also “recommended that the Court find that [Barton] does not have the ability to pay interest and that the Court waive the interest requirement for the restitution.” Id. There is no indication in the record that Barton objected to the restitution recommendation in the PSR.

In addressing the issue of restitution under the MVRA at sentencing, the district court noted there had been “no agreement about restitution,” but that “it was agreed ... the loss [wa]s something over $20 million and less than $50 million.” Id. at 75. The court concluded the key question in applying the MVRA was “what was the value of the Pike National Forest and what is the value of it now?” Id. at 76. The court outlined its preliminary views and conclusions on the issue:

Now, I’m going to, of course, permit counsel to address this. But, I want to put it into some focus here so that ... whoever is going to address this [on behalf of the parties], will know the concern that I have. The statute does not say that ability to pay is a factor that can be considered in determining the amount of restitution required. It can be considered in setting terms of payment in installments. And, indeed, the statute says that the court, where there is an inability to pay, may set nominal payments on the amount of the restitution.
But, you know, it isn’t that easy. This is a debt, once the Court imposes it in a judgment in a criminal case, which is different from a civil case, it can be a condition and the installment payments generally are a condition of supervised release, which is the period that follows serving the term of confinement. But it doesn’t end there. It can be in effect for 20 years, and in fact can be renewed, revived.
So, if I sentence Terry Barton to pay $14 — almost $15 million, I’m sentencing her to a life in which she will be yoked to a burden of debt that makes her situation pretty hopeless. Anybody convicted of a felony has trouble finding a job when they finish their prison term. And when you have a debt like this, that means that collection activities can be conducted, even after the person has served the term of supervised release and is otherwise free.

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Bluebook (online)
366 F.3d 1160, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 8771, 2004 WL 945117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-barton-ca10-2004.