United States v. Gary M. Stuver, A/K/A Gary M. Stuven

845 F.2d 73, 1988 U.S. App. LEXIS 5222, 1988 WL 35244
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedApril 22, 1988
Docket87-5138
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 845 F.2d 73 (United States v. Gary M. Stuver, A/K/A Gary M. Stuven) 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. Gary M. Stuver, A/K/A Gary M. Stuven, 845 F.2d 73, 1988 U.S. App. LEXIS 5222, 1988 WL 35244 (4th Cir. 1988).

Opinion

JAMES DICKSON PHILLIPS, Circuit Judge:

Gary Stuver pled guilty to several counts of mail and wire fraud and was sentenced to concurrent five-year terms of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised probation. The district court ordered Stu-ver, as a “special condition” of this probation, to make restitution to the victim of his fraudulent scheme “in an amount to be determined by his probation officer.” Stu-ver now appeals from that sentencing order, contending that the district court (1) failed adequately to apprise him of his right to make a statement in mitigation of *74 his punishment, as required by Fed.R.Crim. P. 32(a)(1); and (2) failed to follow the appropriate procedures in imposing restitution. We reject the first contention, but conclude that the order of restitution was illegally imposed. We therefore vacate and remand for resentencing.

I

Stuver’s first allegation of error is that the sentencing judge did not adequately apprise him of his right to make a statement in mitigation of his punishment, as required by Fed.R.Crim.P. 32(a)(1). 1 The Supreme Court has made clear that affording the defendant’s counsel the opportunity to speak does not satisfy the rule. Green v. United States, 365 U.S. 301, 304, 81 S.Ct. 653, 655, 5 L.Ed.2d 670 (1960). Instead, Green requires the court to address the defendant himself, in a manner so unambiguous that there is “no room for doubt that the defendant has been issued a personal invitation to speak.” Id. at 305, 81 S.Ct. at 655 (emphasis added).

In this case, there is no doubt that the sentencing c^urt gave Stuver such a personal invitation to speak. After an extended conversation with defense counsel concerning alleged errors in the Presentence Report, the court turned to Stuver and, addressing him by name, asked “Are there any other things in the presentence report that you feel unfairly reflect on you?” When Stuver responded “No, sir,” the court asked him if there was “[anything else that you want to add to it that you feel would be helpful to me, before I pass sentence on you?” The following exchange ensued:

THE DEFENDANT: No, Your Honor, really not. Only I would attempt to amplify what my attorney said regarding the fact that I do accept guilt for this crime. When I pleaded guilty, it was sincere. I regret the circumstances and all.
THE COURT: Well, the Pre-sentence Report suggests that you have no remorse at all, that this was just all in a day’s work for you. Is that a fair characterization?
THE DEFENDANT: No, sir, that’s not fair. That’s not fair at all.
THE COURT: Well, tell me. Do you have remorse?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, of course.
THE COURT: And I mean remorse as heartfelt as opposed to just feeling sorry for yourself because you got caught? There’s different kinds of remorse, you know.
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Hon- or, I realize that. And I do feel remorse. I feel remorse towards the injured party, primarily Mr. Abdul Baki. He was a friend whom I had known for many years.... This is the reason for my remorse, primarily, because this crime was committed not against an abstract entity, but against someone who had been my friend for many years and who had hired me for a job. I certainly feel remorseful, and I wish to do what I can in the future to repay him in some way.

Following this interchange, the court again asked Stuver himself, “Anything else that you would like to add?” When Stuver responded “No, Your Honor,” the judge proceeded to sentence him.

Stuver nonetheless contends that the sentencing court failed to discharge its Rule 32(a)(1) duty because it did not tell him specifically that he had the right to speak on the issue of mitigation. In support of this argument, Stuver cites our decision in United States v. Murphy, 530 F.2d 1 (4th Cir.1976). In Murphy, we held that the district court did not satisfy Rule 32(a)(1) by questioning the defendant, who had pled guilty to possession of a sawed-off shotgun, about how he acquired the gun *75 and what he meant to do with it and then asking him if there was “[a]nything else you want to tell me before I pronounce sentence?” Id. at 2. Stuver suggests that Murphy requires the sentencing court to use the exact language of the rule^-i.e., “you have the right to make a statement in your own behalf and to present any information in mitigation of punishment” — in addressing the defendant. Stuver’s argument, quite simply, misconstrues our decision in Murphy. We did hold in Murphy that Rule 32(a)(1) would not be satisfied by asking the defendant a series of questions on factors the court believes to be relevant to sentencing. We also held that, on the facts of that case, asking the defendant whether he had anything to tell the court before sentence was pronounced was insufficient to satisfy Rule 32(a)(1). We did so, however, not because the court’s inquiry failed to track the literal language of the rule, but because it was unclear from the record whether the question had been addressed to the defendant himself, as opposed to his counsel, since the latter had given the response. Id. at 2.

No such uncertainty exists here. The court specifically addressed the defendant by name at the beginning of the interchange, and it was the defendant himself, rather than his counsel, who responded to each and every question put to him. It is clear from the defendant’s responses to the court’s questions that he understood that he was being allowed to speak in mitigation of his punishment, for he spoke of awareness of guilt and remorse. Under these circumstances, the court’s inquiries, though they did not track the literal language of the Rule, were sufficient to satisfy its underlying concerns.

II

Stuver claims next that the restitution element of his sentence was illegally imposed. We note at the outset that the record does not reveal the precise basis for the restitution order. As Stuver’s offense occurred between March 1983 and January 1984, the court could have ordered restitution under either the Victim and Witness Protection Act (VWPA), 18 U.S.C. §§ 3579-3580, (current version at 18 U.S.C. §§ 3663-3664), or the Federal Probation Act (FPA), 18 U.S.C. § 3651 et seq. (repealed effective Nov. 1, 1987). 2

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Bluebook (online)
845 F.2d 73, 1988 U.S. App. LEXIS 5222, 1988 WL 35244, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-gary-m-stuver-aka-gary-m-stuven-ca4-1988.