United States v. Savely

814 F. Supp. 1519, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2718, 1993 WL 60565
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedFebruary 2, 1993
DocketNo. 88-10034-01
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 814 F. Supp. 1519 (United States v. Savely) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Savely, 814 F. Supp. 1519, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2718, 1993 WL 60565 (D. Kan. 1993).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CROW, District Judge.

On March 9, 1989, the jury found the defendant, Virgil Wayne Savely, guilty of five counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and two counts of mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341.1 Prior to sentencing, the defendant filed a written response (Dk. 53) disputing, inter alia, that portion of the pre-sentence report on restitution in which the prosecution alleged there were twenty-three victims which had sustained a combined loss of $139,694.25. The defendant argued that the government had not proved these losses with credible evidence and that restitution in this amount would be unfairly prejudicial to him. The defendant conceded that in proving the defendant guilty of the counts charged in the [1521]*1521indictment the prosecution had established six victims with a combined loss of $71,-665.00.

On June 5, 1989, the court sentenced defendant to three years imprisonment on count I, and on the remaining counts, the court suspended sentence and placed defendant on five-years probation commencing upon release from confinement and running concurrently. In addition, the court ordered defendant to pay as restitution to twenty-one victims the combined loss of $135,315.55. The defendant did not appeal.

On October 2, 1989, the defendant filed a motion to modify sentence pursuant to Rule 35 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. (Dk. 57). The defendant asked the court to reduce the period of incarceration and the amount of restitution. Specifically, the defendant argued that his obligation for restitution should not commence until he was released and that upon release he would be incapable of making the large payments necessary for full restitution. The court denied the defendant’s motion to modify. (Dk. 59).

On March 26, 1991, the defendant filed a “Motion” (Dk. 62) contending the order for restitution should be modified in light of the recent Supreme Court decision, Hughey v. U.S., 495 U.S. 411, 110 S.Ct. 1979, 109 L.Ed.2d 408 (1990). The defendant acknowledged that this court in sentencing him had properly interpreted the controlling Tenth Circuit precedent, U.S. v. Duncan, 870 F.2d 1532 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 906, 110 S.Ct. 264, 107 L.Ed.2d 214 (1989), which allowed an order of restitution to include losses caused by other criminal acts committed by the defendant that are significantly connected to those for which he has been convicted or pleaded guilty. The defendant next noted that in Hughey the Supreme Court limited restitution awards under the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 (“VWPA”) (18 U.S.C. §§ 3579 and 3580) to those losses caused by the particular conduct which was the basis of the offense of conviction. The defendant referred to his argument at the restitution hearing and in his written response to the pre-sentence report that any restitution should be limited to the acts upon which he had been convicted. The defendant believed his failure to appeal this issue was excused by the controlling Tenth Circuit decision in Duncan. Based upon these points, the defendant requested the following relief:

Defendant Savely asserts that had he been sentenced after the Hughey case, supra, was issued, the restitution ordered would have been 63,650.55 less than the amount that was entered by the Court, $135,315.55. Fundamental principles of fairness support modifying the amount of restitution to $71,665.00.

(Dk. 62 at 3). In its response, the prosecution argued, without citation to case law or legal principles, that Hughey should not be applied retroactively because it was not “appropriate” and because it would “punish” the victims. (Dk. 63).

Believing the issues had not been briefed adequately, the court entered the following minute order on May 3, 1991:

The defendant’s motion (Dk. 62) will not be considered or decided until the defendant submits an additional brief addressing the statutory authority for bringing such a motion at this time and the basis for applying retroactively the case of Hughey v. United States [495] U.S. [411], 110 S.Ct. 1979, 109 L.Ed.2d 408 (1990). The Government will have ten days from the filing date of the defendant’s brief to submit its position on these issues.

(Dk. 64).

On May 8, 1992, the defendant filed his supplement to the motion offering the following paragraph of argument in response to the court’s questions:

Defendant asserts that there is no specific statutory authority known which relates directly to this issue. Instead, defendant Savely seeks the relief requested based upon its inherent supervisory power. The supervisory power theory “is premised on the inherent ability of the federal courts to ‘formulate procedural rules not specifically required by the Constitution of the Congress.’ ” United States v. McClintock, 748 F.2d [1278] at 1284 (9th Cir.1984) (quoting United States v. Hasting, 461 U.S. 499, 505 [103 S.Ct. 1974, 1978, 76 [1522]*1522L.Ed.2d 96] (1983)). A court’s supervisory power permits the court to supervise the administration of criminal justice. Id. The supervisory power may be used not only to vindicate a defendant’s rights, but also to preserve judicial integrity and/or to deter illegal or improper conduct. [U.S. v. ] Hasting, supra [461 U.S. 499] at 506 [103 S.Ct. 1974 at 1978, 76 L.Ed.2d 96 (1983)]; United States v. Carrasco, 786 F.2d 1452 (9th Cir.1986). “Under their supervisory power, courts have substantial authority to oversee their own affairs to ensure that justice is done.” United States v. Simpson, 927 F.2d [1088] at 1089 [(9th Cir.1991)].

(Dk. 66 at 3). The defendant’s counsel does not explain why she has concluded that the statutes and rules fail to afford her client an avenue for relief. None of the cases cited stand for the proposition that a court may use its supervisory powers to correct at any time an unlawful sentence.2 None of the cases cited hold that supervisory powers may be asserted without giving consideration to whether the argued law should be applied retroactively.3 At most, the defendant has argued the instant motion falls within the broad formulations of supervisory power that she has found in her research.4 Besides reiterating the inequity that the victims would suffer if the court were to apply Hu-ghey

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Related

United States v. McGee
326 F. Supp. 2d 1228 (N.D. Oklahoma, 2002)
United States v. Savely
827 F. Supp. 668 (D. Kansas, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
814 F. Supp. 1519, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2718, 1993 WL 60565, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-savely-ksd-1993.