United States v. Jordan

111 F. App'x 65
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedOctober 6, 2004
DocketNo. 04-0358-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 111 F. App'x 65 (United States v. Jordan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second 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. Jordan, 111 F. App'x 65 (2d Cir. 2004).

Opinion

SUMMARY ORDER

UPON DUE CONSIDERATION of this appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of New York (Telesca, J.), it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

Defendant Robert D. Jordan appeals from a judgment of conviction and a sentence principally of 120 months of imprisonment entered in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York (Telesca, J.), following his plea of guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B). We assume the parties’ familiarity with the background of this case and its procedural context. On this appeal, Jordan challenges the district court’s decision to deny him a three-level downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility under United States Sentencing Guideline § 3E1.11 and the district court’s application of U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2 pursuant to the cross-reference contained in § 2G2.4(e)(2).

1. Denial of Downward Adjustment for Acceptance of Responsibility

A defendant qualifies for a downward adjustment under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1 “[i]f the defendant clearly demonstrates acceptance of responsibility for his offense.” Because “[t]he sentencing judge is in a unique position to evaluate a defendant’s acceptance of responsibility .... the determination of the sentencing judge is entitied to great deference on review.” U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, app. n. 5. “[W]e will not disturb the district court’s factual determination regarding whether a defendant has accepted responsibility unless it is ‘without foundation.’ ” United States v. Guzman, 282 F.3d 177, 184 (2d Cir.2002) (quoting United States v. Austin, 17 F.3d 27, 30 (2d Cir.1994)).

Jordan argues that he is entitled to the downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility because he pled guilty to the information and expressed remorse in a letter to the court, promising “never to sexually-exploit [sic] children ever again.” The fact that a defendant enters a guilty plea does not entitle the defendant to an adjustment downward for acceptance of responsibility as of right; this evidence, while “significant,” “may be outweighed by conduct of the defendant that is inconsistent with such acceptance of responsibility.” U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, app. n. 3. Here the district court cited two instances of such conduct: (i) Jordan’s failure to sign a waiver granting the Probation Office access to details of mental health treatment he was receiving as a result of a May 2003 state conviction and of similar counseling he had received after a 1987 conviction, and (ii) his failure to register under his legal name as a sex offender pursuant to New York State law.

Jordan declined to grant the Probation Office access to his current and past mental health treatment history on advice of counsel because such therapy could include discussion of unprosecuted criminal conduct. The waiver forms that Jordan refused to sign would have granted the Probation Office access to “[psychological and [p]sychiatric records” and would have di[67]*67rected the treating therapists to release information including attendance records, response to treatment, and “effectiveness of therapy.” The Guidelines and our own cases prohibit a district court from conditioning a downward adjustment under § 8E1.1 on admission of unprosecuted crimes. See U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, app. n. 1(a) (“[A] defendant is not required to volunteer, or affirmatively admit, relevant conduct beyond the offense of conviction in order to obtain a reduction.”); United States v. Woods, 927 F.2d 735, 736 (2d Cir.1991) (“[A] court may not ..., consistent with the Fifth Amendment, ... require a defendant to admit to [unprosecuted] criminal behavior as a condition of obtaining a reduction in punishment.”). It is not clear that the waivers Jordan was requested to sign would have likely resulted in such disclosure. We need not resolve this issue, however, because even supposing arguendo that it would have been improper to deny the downward adjustment on the basis of Jordan’s failure to sign the waivers, the other conduct relied upon by the district court to deny the downward adjustment furnishes an adequate basis for the court’s determination. See United States v. Zhuang, 270 F.3d 107, 110 (2d Cir.2001) (“[W]e will not assume that the district court has erred in [denying downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility based on the defendant’s refusal to acknowledge uncharged conduct] if an alternative permissible ground for denying the adjustment can be deduced from the record.”); United States v. Rivera, 96 F.3d 41, 43 (2d Cir.1996) (“Even when the District Court has articulated impermissible reasons for the denial of a section 3E1.1 reduction, the sentence may nonetheless be affirmed if permissible reasons were also articulated.”).

When Jordan registered as a sex offender in May of 2003 pursuant to his state conviction he did not list among his names and aliases Robert D. Jordan, his true legal name at the time of conviction and registration. See generally N.Y. Correct. Law §§ 168-b, 168-f(l) (McKinney 2003) (requiring persons convicted of specified offenses to register and requiring the state to ascertain and record the offender’s “name ... [and] all aliases used”). The defendant’s failure to register his actual name while giving a former name and other aliases furnishes ample basis for the district court’s decision not to credit his assertion that he accepted responsibility for the instant offense and meant no further harm to children.2 See Rivera, 96 F.3d at 43 (affirming denial of § 3E1.1 adjustment where defendant did not demonstrate “contrition and candor”). Because the district court’s determination was not “without foundation,” we do not disturb it. Guzman, 282 F.3d at 184.

2. Application of § 2G2.2

We review a district court’s factual findings made in the course of imposing a sentence under the Guidelines for clear error, but review de novo the court’s legal interpretation of the Guidelines. United States v. Ravelo, 370 F.3d 266, 269 (2d Cir.2004). Where, as here, the offense of conviction is mere possession of child por[68]*68nography, Guideline § 2G2.4 (captioned “Possession of Materials Depicting a Minor Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct”) generally supplies the starting point. See United States v. Johnson, 221 F.3d 83, 87, 97 (2d Cir.2000). Section 2G2.4(c)(2) directs, however, that “[i]f the offense involved trafficking in material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor (including receiving, transporting, shipping, advertising, or possessing [such] material ... with intent to traffic),” the sentencing court should instead apply § 2G2.2, which governs trafficking. The district court, citing Johnson,

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111 F. App'x 65, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jordan-ca2-2004.