United States v. Buchanan

638 F.3d 448, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 7555, 2011 WL 1387836
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedApril 13, 2011
Docket09-4834
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 638 F.3d 448 (United States v. Buchanan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth 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. Buchanan, 638 F.3d 448, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 7555, 2011 WL 1387836 (4th Cir. 2011).

Opinion

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge SHEDD wrote the opinion, in which Judge WILKINSON and Judge DUNCAN joined.

OPINION

SHEDD, Circuit Judge:

While on federal supervised release, William Buchanan absconded and re *449 mained a fugitive for approximately 13 years. After Buchanan was apprehended the district court found that he had committed multiple supervised release violations from the time he absconded until he was retaken; consequently, it revoked his supervised release and sentenced him to separate concurrent custody terms of 48 months, 36 months, and 27 months. Buchanan now appeals the revocation order in part, and the 36- and 27-month sentences, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the violations associated with those sentences because they were not charged in a warrant or summons before the scheduled expiration of his supervised release term. The court rejected this argument, concluding that the supervised release term was tolled while Buchanan was a fugitive. United States v. Buchanan, 632 F.Supp.2d 554 (E.D.Va. 2009). Because we agree with the court’s conclusion, we affirm.

I

In 1991, Buchanan pled guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine. The district court sentenced him to a 120-month term of imprisonment, which it subsequently reduced to 30 months on the government’s substantial assistance motion. The court also imposed a five-year supervised release term.

In March 1993, Buchanan was released from federal custody, and his supervised release term commenced. Because he was an Ohio resident, his immediate supervision was transferred to the United States Probation Office in the Northern District of Ohio. However, jurisdiction over his supervision was maintained by the United States Probation Office in the Eastern District of Virginia. Therefore, Buchanan had a probation officer in Ohio to whom he was required to report, as well as a probation officer in Virginia who monitored his supervision. Buchanan’s supervised release term was scheduled to end in March 1998.

In May 1994, Buchanan was indicted in Ohio on state drug trafficking charges. He was released on bond, but in February 1995 he failed to appear for trial in state court, resulting in the issuance of a state arrest warrant. Buchanan’s last personal contact with his Ohio probation officer occurred in January 1995. Shortly thereafter, the Ohio probation officer determined that Buchanan had absconded from federal supervision.

In April 1995, the Virginia probation officer submitted to the district court a “Petition on Probation and Supervised Release” (the “Petition”), alleging that Buchanan violated the terms and conditions of his supervised release by incurring a new criminal charge in Ohio, by failing to report to his Ohio probation officer as directed, and by failing to notify his Ohio probation officer within 72 hours of any change in residence or employment. Consequently, the court issued an arrest warrant, which remained outstanding until December 2008, when Buchanan was located and arrested in Georgia.

In February 2009, an addendum to the Petition was filed alleging that during the time he was a fugitive Buchanan had violated the terms and conditions of his supervised release in several respects. Specifically, this addendum alleges that (1) in September 1996, Buchanan was arrested in Alabama for marijuana trafficking; (2) in March 2005, he was arrested in Missouri for (inter alia) possession of a controlled substance and unlawful use of a weapon; (3) in January 2008, he was arrested in Georgia for driving under the influence; and (4) in December 2008, he was arrested in Georgia for entering an auto or other motor vehicle with intent to commit a theft *450 or felony, and financial transaction card fraud. In March 2009, a second addendum to the Petition was filed, alleging that in 2008 Buchanan violated the terms and conditions of his supervised release by committing the crime of identity theft in Georgia. Buchanan avoided federal detection for these arrests by using various aliases.

Upon his return to the Eastern District of Virginia, Buchanan conceded that the Petition (setting forth the 1995 charges) was properly before the district court, but he moved to dismiss the two addenda, contending that the court lacked jurisdiction over them because his scheduled supervised release term expired in March 1998, and the addenda were not filed until 2009. He argued that the supervised release statutes provide only two ways in which the release term may be adjusted or the court can exercise control over the defendant outside that period. The first way is codified in 18 U.S.C. § 3624(e), which allows for a supervised release term to be tolled during any period in which the defendant is imprisoned for 30 days or more in connection with another crime. The second is codified in 18 U.S.C. § 3583(i), which authorizes a district court to exercise authority over a defendant after the scheduled expiration of the supervised release term for a reasonable period to adjudicate a matter arising before the expiration of the term if a warrant or summons for that matter is issued during the term. 1 Reading these statutes in light of the canon “expressio unius est exclusio atterius ”■ — -Buchanan contended that the court was not authorized to adjudicate the violations set forth in the addenda because no warrant or summons issued for them during the supervised release term.

The district court denied the motion, holding that Buchanan’s supervised release term was tolled while he was a fugitive. The court concluded that the supervised release statutes do not address the issue of fugitive tolling and that its application is consistent with the congressional purpose of supervised release and the law relating to fugitives generally. On the merits of the violations, the court found Buchanan guilty on the 1995 charges that he failed to appear in Ohio state court for the drug trafficking indictment and failed to maintain contact with his probation officer, the 1996 Alabama drug trafficking charge, and the 2008 Georgia identity theft charge. The court imposed concurrent sentences of 48 months, 36 months, and 27 months, respectively, and dismissed the remaining alleged violations.

II

On appeal, Buchanan reiterates the statutory argument he made below, contending that the district court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the addenda. 2 Stated simply, the issue before us is whether a *451 sentencing court is authorized to revoke a term of supervised release after the scheduled expiration date of the release term for conduct that (a) occurs while the defendant has absconded from supervision and (b) is not brought to the court’s attention until after the term’s scheduled expiration date when the defendant is apprehended. This is a matter of law that we review de novo. See Ide, 624 F.3d at 668.

A.

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Bluebook (online)
638 F.3d 448, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 7555, 2011 WL 1387836, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-buchanan-ca4-2011.