United States v. Sevilla-Oyola

854 F. Supp. 2d 164, 2012 WL 642467, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25730
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedFebruary 28, 2012
DocketCriminal No. 10-251 (JAF)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 854 F. Supp. 2d 164 (United States v. Sevilla-Oyola) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Sevilla-Oyola, 854 F. Supp. 2d 164, 2012 WL 642467, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25730 (prd 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JOSE ANTONIO FUSTE, District Judge.

Pending before the court is Defendant’s Omnibus Motion Regarding Sentencing (“Omnibus Motion”). (Docket No. 2586.) Defendant’s Omnibus Motion contains three motions: A Motion to Recuse, a “Santobello Motion,”1 and a Motion to Vacate Sentence. (Id.) Regarding the Motion to Vacate the Sentence, we have entered a separate Order setting aside the sentence due to procedural deficiencies in our change-of-plea colloquy. (See Docket Nos. 2587; 2589.) For the reasons set forth below, we now deny the Motion to Recuse and the “Santobello Motion.” We also address Defendant’s Notice of Appeal, finding it premature. We conclude by outlining some next steps for resolving the present case.

A. Motion to Recuse

Defendant brings a Motion to Recuse, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 455 and 28 U.S.C. § 144.2 (Docket No. 2586.) Defendant argues that the undersigned judge should be disqualified from concluding this criminal case by sentencing the Defendant due to bias, prejudice, and personal knowledge. (Id.) Defendant notes that the standard is an objective one, asking “whether a reasonable person would be convinced” that this judge is biased. (Id. at 2.) Though Defendant invokes § 455(b)(1), many of the cases he cites interpret a different section of the recusal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 455(a). See, e.g., United States v. Pearson, 203 F.3d 1243, 1277-78 (10th Cir.2000); In re United States, 158 F.3d 26 (1st Cir.1998) (interpreting § 455(a) exclusively). The First Circuit has held that “[rjecusals are governed by § 455(a),” United States v. Pulido, 566 F.3d 52, 54 (1st Cir.2009), and the Supreme Court has held that “ § 455(a) expands the protection of § 455(b), but duplicates some of its protection as well.” Liteky v. United States, 510 U.S. 540, 552, 114 S.Ct. 1147, 127 L.Ed.2d 474 (1994). We, therefore, consider Defendant’s recusal motion under both § 455(a) and § 455(b)(1).3

[167]*167Under relevant First Circuit case law, recusal is appropriate when the facts asserted “provide what an objective, knowledgeable member of the public would find to be a reasonable basis for doubting the judge’s impartiality.” In re Boston’s Children First, 244 F.3d 164, 167 (1st Cir.2001) (quoting In re United States, 666 F.2d 690, 695 (1st Cir.1981)). Because we find that no such “reasonable basis” exists, we deny Defendant’s motion for recusal.4

Defendant claims that the court “made manifest its bias in two significant ways.” (Id. at 2.) First, Defendant points to previous public comments by the undersigned judge in matters that pertain to the administration of criminal justice. (Id. at 2-3; Docket Nos. 2586-1; 2586-2.) Second, Defendant cites the comments made by this judge at Defendant’s first sentencing. (Docket No. 2586 at 3-4.) Both sets of comments, according to Defendant, demonstrate an “agenda” stemming from this judge’s “dissatisfaction with the local courts.” (Id. at 3.) See Tr. of First Sentencing Hearing, Docket No. 2559.

1. Comments at Sentencing

We can quickly dispatch with Defendant’s objections related to our comments at sentencing. As the Supreme Court has made clear in its discussion of the “extrajudicial source” doctrine, “judicial remarks during the course of a trial that are critical or disapproving of, or even hostile to, counsel, the parties, or their cases, ordinarily do not support” a recusal challenge. Liteky, 510 U.S. at 555, 114 S.Ct. 1147. Opinions formed by the judge, when based on facts introduced during the proceeding, do not support a bias challenge “unless they display a deep-seated favoritism or antagonism that would make fair judgment impossible.” Id. An example of such deep-seated antagonism would be, in a World War One espionage trial of German-Amerieans, a district court judge stating, “One must have a very judicial mind, indeed, not [to be] prejudiced against the German-Amerieans” because their “hearts are reeking with disloyalty.” Id. (quoting Berger v. United States, 255 U.S. 22, 28, 41 S.Ct. 230, 65 L.Ed. 481 (1921)) (internal quotation marks omitted). Nothing this judge has said in this case approaches this level of antagonism.

Courts in other circuits have similarly found that comments made at sentencing about a defendant do not support a recusal motion. See, e.g., Pearson, 203 F.3d at 1277-78 (finding no grounds for recusal where judge made remarks about defendant’s character); United States v. Kimball, 73 F.3d 269, 273 (10th Cir.1995) (finding that judge’s comments about defendant’s criminal record, and judge’s stated intention that defendant “die in prison,” did not require recusal). In this case, this judge considered Defendant’s criminal history and uncharged conduct, in light of the relevant statutory sentencing factors pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553. (Docket No. 2586 at 3-4.) See also USSG § 1B1.4 and 18 U.S.C. § 3661. Such comments, based on facts learned during the proceeding, do not support a finding of bias or prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 455 or 28 U.S.C. § 144. Liteky, 510 U.S. at 555, 114 S.Ct. 1147.

2. Public Comments

Nor do this judge’s public comments on the administration of the erimi[168]*168nal justice system and the interplay between federal and state courts provide a “reasonable basis” for doubting this judge’s partiality. The First Circuit has acknowledged that there is “little guidance on when public comments, even those on the merits of a pending action, create an appearance of partiality for which § 455(a) is the remedy.” In re Boston’s Children First, 244 F.3d at 168-69. Nevertheless, the case law suggests that there must be certain “factors at work” to require recusal, none of which are present here. Id. at 169. Most significantly, none of this judge’s outside comments related to any pending action before the court, and much less against Defendant. See id.; United States v. Cooley, 1 F.3d 985, 995 n. 8 (10th Cir.1993) (cautioning judges not to discuss pending cases with the media when public tensions are high). Second, the judge’s comments here were not so ambiguous that they could have been misinterpreted as pronouncing a view on the pending case.

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Bluebook (online)
854 F. Supp. 2d 164, 2012 WL 642467, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25730, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-sevilla-oyola-prd-2012.