United States v. Tiesha Henderson

64 F.4th 111
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedMarch 29, 2023
Docket18-1894
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 64 F.4th 111 (United States v. Tiesha Henderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third 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. Tiesha Henderson, 64 F.4th 111 (3d Cir. 2023).

Opinion

PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

____________

No. 18-1894 ____________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v.

TIESHA LASHA HENDERSON,

Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Criminal Action No. 1-17-cr-00011-001) District Judge: Honorable David S. Cercone

Argued on October 18, 2022

Before: GREENAWAY, JR., MATEY and ROTH, Circuit Judges

(Opinion filed March 29, 2023) Samantha Stern (ARGUED) Office of Federal Public Defender 1001 Liberty Avenue 1500 Liberty Center Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Counsel for Appellant

Adam N. Hallowell (ARGUED) Laura S. Irwin Office of United States Attorney 700 Grant Street Suite 4000 Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Counsel for Appellee

OPINION OF THE COURT

ROTH, Circuit Judge.

This case presents us with the rare opportunity to clarify conflicting decisions which we have handed down. United States v. Abreu and United States v. Preston, two cases addressing the career offender enhancement under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the Armed Career Criminal Act, dictate very different sentencing outcomes for defendants

2 convicted of conspiracy and other inchoate offenses. Tiesha Lasha Henderson appeals the sentence imposed by the District Court, arguing that the District Court plainly erred in following Preston and applying the career offender enhancement based on a conviction for conspiracy. We agree. We recognize that Preston has been effectively overruled by intervening Supreme Court precedent, and thus we hold that, under Pennsylvania law, conspiracy to commit robbery does not constitute a “crime of violence” for purposes of the career offender enhancement. Therefore, we will vacate Henderson’s sentence and remand for resentencing.

I. BACKGROUND

A grand jury indicted Tiesha Lasha Henderson for possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(iv). Henderson pleaded guilty without a plea agreement.

In sentencing Henderson, the District Court applied the career offender enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1 and the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), based on findings that (1) Henderson’s 2015 Pennsylvania conviction for possession with intent to deliver heroin qualified as a “controlled substance offense,” and (2) Henderson’s 2005 Pennsylvania conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery qualified as a “crime of violence.” In several pre-sentencing filings, including Henderson’s sentencing memorandum, Henderson acknowledged being “denominated a ‘career offender under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1’”, based on the 2005 conviction for

3 conspiracy to commit robbery.1 The enhancement increased the applicable Guideline range from 70 to 87 months’ imprisonment to 188 to 235 months’ imprisonment. Henderson did not challenge the Probation Office’s Presentence Report Guideline calculations based on this finding, and the District Court adopted the calculations.

The District Court sentenced Henderson to 120 months’ imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release. The court reduced the term of imprisonment 68 months below the bottom of the range because of Henderson’s “mental health issues.”2 The conditions of supervised release included that Henderson “participate in a mental health assessment, and, if appropriate, a mental health treatment program,” and “abide by all program rules, requirements and conditions, including submission to polygraph testing to determine if [Henderson] is in compliance with the conditions of release.” 3

At sentencing, Henderson objected to the condition of polygraph testing. The District Court responded by noting that it imposed polygraph testing “all the time” to “[e]nsure the defendant is compliant with all of the requirements, the conditions of supervised release.” 4

Henderson appealed the application of the career offender enhancement and the order requiring submission to polygraph testing. After filing a notice of appeal, Henderson moved to stay the appeal pending United States v. Harris, No.

1 Appx. 18, 44. 2 Appx. 2–3, 70. 3 Appx. 5. 4 Appx. 73.

4 17-1861 (en banc), which presented the question whether Pennsylvania first-degree robbery qualifies as a violent felony under the ACCA. We granted Henderson’s motion. Nearly three years later, Henderson moved to lift the stay, both because of delays in Harris and because of our decision in United States v. Nasir, 17 F.4th 459 (3d Cir. 2021). We granted the motion in part, lifting the stay but deferring the issuance of the briefing schedule. We also directed the parties to file letter briefs addressing whether summary action would be appropriate and discussing the effect of Borden v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 1817 (2021), in which the Supreme Court found that crimes that can be committed with recklessness do not qualify as “violent felonies” under the ACCA. Henderson moved for summary reversal, which we denied. We then directed that the appeal proceed.

II. JURISDICTION AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

The District Court had subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231, which provides district courts with original jurisdiction over “all offenses against the laws of the United States.” We have appellate jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a), which permit review of district courts’ final decisions and final sentences.

“Whether an offense qualifies as a crime of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines is a legal question that this Court typically reviews de novo.”5 However, when an appellant has previously failed to challenge an issue, we apply

5 United States v. Scott, 14 F.4th 190, 194 (3d Cir. 2021) (citing United States v. Henderson, 841 F.3d 623, 626 (3d Cir. 2016)).

5 plain error review.6 By contrast, we review the District Court’s imposition of a condition of supervised release for abuse of discretion.7

III. DISCUSSION

A. The District Court Improperly Applied the Career Offender Enhancement in Sentencing Henderson.

i) Standard of Review

Henderson first challenges application of the career offender enhancement, based on a conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery. The government contends that Henderson waived this issue, inviting the error. 8 The government, however, confuses waiver with forfeiture.

Waiver is the “intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right,” while forfeiture is the “failure to make the timely assertion of a right.” 9 Waived arguments may not be reviewed on appeal while forfeited arguments are reviewable for plain error. 10 A defendant waives a right when

6 United States v. Glass, 904 F.3d 319, 321 (3d Cir. 2018). 7 United States v. Lee, 315 F.3d 206, 210 (3d Cir. 2003). 8 Although waiver is distinct from invited error, we address invited error in our analysis because the government relies on cases that do so, and because we often discuss invited error in determining whether an issue is waived. See, e.g., Robinson v. First State Cmty. Action Agency, 920 F.3d 182, 187 (3d Cir. 2019). 9 Id. at 187 (quoting Barna v. Bd. of Sch. Dirs. of Panther Valley Sch.

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Bluebook (online)
64 F.4th 111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-tiesha-henderson-ca3-2023.