United States v. Pruitt

Procedural entryThis page is a short order in United States v. Pruitt. Read the opinion of the Court — 813 F.3d 90
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit·Decided February 1, 2016·No. 14-1921·Published

Opinion

14‐1921 United States v. Pruitt

1 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

2 FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT 3 _________________ 4 5 August Term, 2014 6 7 (Submitted: March 30, 2015) (Decided: February 1, 2016) 8 9 Docket No. 14‐1921‐cr 10 _______________ 11 12 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 13 14 Appellee, 15 16 ‐versus‐ 17 18 KAYLON B. PRUITT, 19 20 Defendant‐Appellant, 21 ______________ 22 23 Before: POOLER, Circuit Judge, and GLEESON,1 District Judge.2 24 25 Kaylon Pruitt appeals from the 46‐month term of imprisonment imposed upon

26 him after his plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He contends that

27 the district court failed to explain the reasons for the sentence, as required by 18 U.S.C. §

28 3553(c). Applying plain error review, we find no such error but write to suggest to the

1 The Honorable John Gleeson, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, sitting by designation.

2 Judge Susan L. Carney, a member of the original panel, subsequently recused herself. Therefore, this case is decided by the two remaining members of the panel pursuant to Internal Operating Procedure E(b) of the Rules of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. 1 United States Sentencing Commission and the Judicial Conference of the United States

2 that the Statement of Reasons form that all sentencing judges are required to use be

3 amended to bring it into conformity with the law.

4 Affirmed.

5 6 ____________________ 7 JAMES F. GREENWALD (James P. Egan, on the brief), 8 Assistant Federal Public Defender, for Lisa A. Peebles, 9 Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of New York, 10 Syracuse, NY. 11 12 RICHARD R. SOUTHWICK (Steven D. Clymer, on the brief), 13 Assistant United States Attorneys, for Richard S. Hartunian, United 14 States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Syracuse, 15 NY, for Appellee. 16 17 JOHN GLEESON, District Judge: 18 19 Kaylon Pruitt appeals from the May 29, 2014 judgment of conviction entered

20 against him in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

21 (Suddaby, J.). Pruitt was sentenced principally to a 46‐month term of imprisonment on

22 his plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §

23 922(g). He contends that the district court committed procedural error during his

24 sentencing by failing to explain the reasons for the sentence, as required by 18 U.S.C. §

25 3553(c).

26 We affirm but write to suggest to the United States Sentencing Commission and

27 the Judicial Conference of the United States that the Statement of Reasons form

1 included within the statutorily‐required form for the entry of criminal judgments ‐‐

2 Form AO 245B ‐‐ be amended to bring it into conformity with § 3553(c) and Supreme

3 Court precedent. Specifically, a check‐a‐box section of the form, which was checked by

4 the district court in this case, invites sentencing judges to impose a sentence within the

5 applicable Guidelines range simply because the judge finds no reason to depart.

6 Because that both undermines the statutory obligation to state the reasons for every

7 sentence and unlawfully presumes the reasonableness of the advisory Guidelines range,

8 the form should be amended.

9 BACKGROUND

10 On October 15, 2013, a New York State Parole Officer conducted an

11 unannounced home visit of Pruitt’s housemate, who was on parole. Pruitt, believing

12 the officer might be an intruder, went to the door with a shotgun. The parole officer

13 drew his weapon and directed the 22‐year‐old Pruitt to lower the shotgun. Pruitt

14 complied. A subsequent search of the home revealed that Pruitt was abusing drugs.

15 On November 20, 2013, a grand jury returned a one‐count indictment charging

16 Pruitt with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The underlying conviction, which

17 occurred in 2009 in South Carolina, was for burglary in the second degree. Pruitt pled

18 guilty to the only charge against him on January 16, 2014.

19 Pruitt appeared for sentencing on May 21, 2014. The presentence report

20 calculated his Guidelines range to be 37‐46 months. It described Pruitt’s difficult

1 upbringing in a gang‐infested South Carolina neighborhood and his mental health

2 history (which included behavioral, emotional, and psychiatric problems, and suicide

3 attempts). It also described additional criminal charges arising out of Pruitt’s conduct

4 while in custody after his arrest in this case. Specifically, Pruitt allegedly

5 inappropriately touched a nurse outside her clothing and then punched and threatened

6 the corrections officer who reacted to the touching by trying to restrain Pruitt.

7 Defense counsel, relying on Pruitt’s upbringing and mental health issues,

8 requested a sentence of no greater than 36 months, the bottom of the advisory

9 Guidelines range. For its part, the government requested a sentence at the top of the

10 range, contending that Pruitt was a “dangerous” man “from whom society needs to be

11 protected.” App’x at 48.

12 Immediately after hearing the arguments of counsel,3 the district court stated as

13 follows:

14 Okay. [The] Court’s prepared to impose sentence. 15 The Court has reviewed and considered all the pertinent 16 information including but not limited to the presentence 17 investigation report, the addendum, submissions by counsel, 18 and the 2013 edition of the Sentencing Guidelines manual, as 19 well as the factors outlined in 18 U.S.C. [§] 3553(a). The 20 court adopts the factual information and the guideline 21 applications contained in the presentence investigation 22 report.

3 Pruitt declined his opportunity to be heard at sentencing.

1 The court finds the total offense level is 17, the 2 criminal history category is IV and the guideline 3 imprisonment range is 37 to 46 months.

4 Upon your plea of guilty on Count 1 of the 5 indictment, it is the judgment of the court that you are 6 hereby committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons for 7 a period of 46 months.

8 App’x at 50‐51.

9 On May 29, 2014, the district court entered judgment on Form AO 245B. The

10 form is entitled “Judgment in a Criminal Case,” and it provides a framework for judges

11 to memorialize any prison term imposed, any supervised release or probation term and

12 the conditions of such supervision, any criminal monetary penalties (i.e., fine,

13 restitution, assessments), and any denials of federal benefits. Most important to this

14 appeal is the attachment to the form, entitled “Statement of Reasons.” In Section I of the

15 Statement of Reasons, which is headed “Court Findings on Presentence Investigation

16 Report,” the district court checked the box next to the statement, “The court adopts the

17 presentence investigation report without change.” In Section IV, headed “Advisory

18 Guideline Sentencing Determination,” the district court checked the box next to the

19 statement, “The sentence is within an advisory range that is not greater than 24 months,

20 and the court finds no reason to depart.”

21 This appeal followed.

1 DISCUSSION

2 A. The Adequacy of the District Court’s Statement of Reasons

3 Pruitt contends that the district court committed procedural error at the

4 sentencing proceeding by failing to offer a sufficient explanation for the 46‐month, top‐

5 of‐the‐range sentence. He seeks a vacatur of the sentence and a remand directing the

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