United States v. Jawad Miqbel

444 F.3d 1173, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 9577, 2006 WL 988307
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedApril 17, 2006
Docket05-10033
StatusPublished
Cited by289 cases

This text of 444 F.3d 1173 (United States v. Jawad Miqbel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth 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. Jawad Miqbel, 444 F.3d 1173, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 9577, 2006 WL 988307 (9th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

REINHARDT, Circuit Judge.

Jawad Miqbel appeals the sentence imposed by the district court on the grounds that the court failed to set forth sufficient reasons for its imposition of a sentence outside the recommended range, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c), and that the sentence was unreasonable because it was imposed to provide “just punishment,” a factor he alleges to be impermissible in revocation sentencing. We vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.

I.

On February 21, 2001, Jawad Miqbel pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to possess a listed chemical with knowledge and reasonable cause to believe it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and § 841(d)(2). On September 5, 2001, Chief Judge William Shubb of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California sentenced him to three years imprisonment and three years of supervised release in addition to requiring mandatory drug testing. Miqbel served his prison sentence and was released under the supervision of the court on March 18, 2003.

*1175 Following his release, Miqbel used methamphetamine sporadically in violation of the conditions of his release. On September 3, 2003, he admitted to his probation officer that he had used methamphetamine on or around August 31, 2003. On October 27, 2003, he tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine. On May 3, 2004, Lodi Police initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Miqbel and during a subsequent search, conducted with his consent, found 7.1 grams of marijuana and 1.3 grams of methamphetamine in the car. He was released the following day and immediately reported the arrest to his probation officer. Based on these incidents, the probation officer filed a petition with the court on June 1, 2004 alleging that Miqbel had violated the conditions of his release. In the petition, the probation officer noted that Miqbel had “been in high frequency substance abuse testing and group and individual counseling” since late 2003 and that since he had started that treatment, “[a]ll indications were that he was doing well.”

Appearing before the district court at the revocation hearing on December 22, 2004, Miqbel was found in violation of one charge, use of methamphetamine, a Grade C violation under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. For a Grade C violation, the Chapter 7 policy statements recommend a range of imprisonment of three to nine months for those who, like Miqbel, have a Category I criminal history. U.S. SENTENCING GUIDELINES MANUAL § 7B1.4 (2004) (Term of Imprisonment (Policy Statement)). 1 At the revocation hearing, however, the district court sentenced Miqbel outside of the recommended three- to nine-month range, to a term of twelve months of imprisonment, despite the recommendations of the probation officer and the government that he receive a six month sentence. 2 The only reason provided by the court for the upward departure was: “I have considered the guidelines under Chapter 7, and I have carefully given consideration to a sentence within those guidelines, but I find that a sentence within those guidelines would be insufficient to meet the purposes of sentencing under these circumstances.”

On May 25, 2005, the district court heard and denied Miqbel’s motion for bail pending appeal. At this hearing, the court acknowledged that it “could have and probably should have been more explicit in the reasons given for the sentence” that it had imposed at the earlier revocation proceeding, and suggested that Miqbel’s counsel raise on appeal the issue whether a court can consider punishment as a factor in deciding what sentence to impose upon revocation of supervised release. In the course of the bail hearing, the court stated that in its view, “punishment is the sentence imposed in order to promote respect for the law and to provide just punishment for the offense” 3 and stated its belief that punishment could be taken into account in revocation sentencing.

*1176 Miqbel appeals his sentence. 4 This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742.

II.

Whether the district court provided an adequate statement of reasons for the sentence it imposed is a question of law that we review de novo. United States v. Duran, 37 F.3d 557, 560 (9th Cir.1994) (citing United States v. Upshaw, 918 F.2d 789, 792 (9th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 930, 111 S.Ct. 1335, 113 L.Ed.2d 266 (1991)). If a defendant fails to object to the district court’s failure to adequately state reasons, however, the sentence is reviewed for plain error. See United States v. Vences, 169 F.3d 611, 613 (9th Cir.1999).

We have historically reviewed the district court’s consideration of non-binding policy statements, such as Chapter 7, for abuse of discretion. United States v. Tadeo, 222 F.3d 623, 625 (9th Cir.2000); United States v. George, 184 F.3d 1119, 1120 (9th Cir.1999). We review the sentence ultimately imposed for reasonableness. United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 261-62, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). 5

*1177 III.

On appeal, Miqbel argues, first, that the trial court erred by failing to explain adequately the reasons for his sentence, as required by 18 U.S.C. § 3558(c). 6 Section 3553(c) requires the court:

at the time of sentencing, [to] state in open court the reasons for its imposition of the particular sentence, and, if the sentence—
(1) is of the kind, and within the range, described in subsection (a)(4), and that range exceeds 24 months, the reason for imposing a sentence within a particular point within the range; or
(2) is not of the kind, or is outside the range, described in subsection (a)(4), the specific reason

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444 F.3d 1173, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 9577, 2006 WL 988307, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jawad-miqbel-ca9-2006.