United States v. Rhodes

288 F. Supp. 2d 928, 2003 WL 22458812
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedOctober 30, 2003
Docket03-20008
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 288 F. Supp. 2d 928 (United States v. Rhodes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Rhodes, 288 F. Supp. 2d 928, 2003 WL 22458812 (C.D. Ill. 2003).

Opinion

*930 AMENDED 1 FINAL DISPOSITION ORDER

BAKER, District Judge.

This case is before the court for final hearing and entry of an order of final disposition. The United States appeared through Timothy Bass, Assistant United States Attorney. The defendant appeared personally accompanied by her attorneys, J. Steven Beckett, Esq. and Carol A. Di-son, Esq.

The defendant has been read the pre-sentence report and discussed it with her counsel. She has no objections to the contents of the report. 2 The government has raised no objections to the report. The court accepts and adopts the statements contained in the presentence report.

I.

The defendant, Sandra Carol Rhodes, is a forty-eight year old, college educated, white female. She has plead guilty to one count of possession of between 50 and 150 grams of the controlled substance methamphetamine with intent to distribute it. She has also plead guilty to one count of money laundering. Both offenses are Class C felonies. In the course of her criminal activities Rhodes is accountable for a total of 24 pounds 14 ounces of methamphetamine, 24 ounces of glass, and 8 pounds of cannabis. The total amount of funds she laundered is between $85,000 and $100,000. This is her first offense. She has no prior convictions, but she was not a small time drug dealer and her offenses must rank as serious and substantial. Under the guidelines applicable to the combined counts, at offense level 37 in Zone D, her guideline sentence would be between 210 and 262 months of incarceration followed by not less than three years of supervised release. She is further subject to a fine of between $20,000 and $1,500,000. As the presentence report shows, her financial condition would not support a fine. She, of course, must pay the statutory special assessment of $100 on each count of conviction. The offenses are not probationable.

The government has moved, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1, for a downward departure from the minimum guideline sentence based on Rhodes’ substantial assistance to authorities. The government recommends that the court reduce the minimum guideline sentence by 30%. 3 The defendant has moved, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5H1.4, for a downward departure based upon Rhodes’ physical condition. The defendant further objects to the 30% reduction recommended by the government and argues that Rhodes’ assistance was far more valuable to the government than its assessment of that value and exposed her to greater danger, and that she should receive a far greater reduction in the minimum sentence. The court will first consider the defendant’s motion for departure under § 5H1.4.

*931 II.

As set forth in United States v. Sherman, 53 F.3d 782 (7th Cir.1995), in order to support a downward departure, the district court is required to make “particularized findings.” The following extensive quote is a guide to the court on how to proceed.

[We] do not attempt to define what constitutes an “extraordinary physical impairment” for that determination should be left to the trier of fact because it is a legal conclusion inextricably based on the particular facts of each case. The district court is certainly free to look to other courts for guidance to see what they considered an “extraordinary physical impairment.” See, e.g., United States v. LeBlanc, 24 F.3d 340, 348-49 (1st Cir.1994), cert. denied sub nom., Weinstein v. United States, 513 U.S. 896, 115 S.Ct. 250, 130 L.Ed.2d 172 (1994) (a heart condition that could be treated with medication is not sufficient to warrant downward departure); United States v. Streat, 22 F.3d 109, 112-13 (6th Cir.1994) (sentence vacated and remanded to make particularized findings of whether AIDS is an extraordinary impairment); United States v. Goff, 6 F.3d 363, 366 (6th Cir.1993) (a wheelchair bound quadriplegic is not entitled to the departure); United States v. Slater, 971 F.2d 626, 634-35 (10th Cir.1992) (finding that borderline mental retardation, chronic major depressive disorder, scoliosis and disabling back pain are not adequate grounds without particularized findings); United States v. Greenwood, 928 F.2d 645, 646 (4th Cir.1991) (double amputee whose treatment would be jeopardized in prison is granted a departure).
The general authority to depart from the Guidelines is found in U.S.S.G. § 5K2.0 which states that:
the sentencing court may impose a sentence outside the range established by the applicable guideline if the court finds “that there exists an aggravating or mitigating circumstance of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission in formulating the guidelines that should result in a sentence different from that described.”
While any departure is viewed deferentially by this court, we do review the degree of departure to determine if it is linked to the structure of the Guidelines. United States v. Ferra, 900 F.2d 1057, 1062 (7th Cir.1990). This means that district courts must employ the rationale and methodology of the guidelines when considering cases not adequately addressed by existing guidelines. The sentencing judge is thus required to articulate the specific factors justifying the extent of his departure and to adjust the defendant’s sentence by utilizing an incremental process that quantifies the impact of the factors considered by the court on the defendant’s sentence. United States v. Thomas, 930 F.2d 526, 530 (7th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 857, 112 S.Ct. 171, 116 L.Ed.2d 134 (1991). ‘“Significant departures — those of more' than two levels — must be explained with a care commensurate with their exceptional quality.’ ” United States v. Seacott, 15 F.3d 1380, 1389 (7th Cir.1994). The method of departure must be made with reference to the rationale or methodology of the Guidelines. Id.

53 F.3d at 788-89.

A.

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Bluebook (online)
288 F. Supp. 2d 928, 2003 WL 22458812, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-rhodes-ilcd-2003.