United States v. Victor Hackett

311 F.3d 989, 2002 Daily Journal DAR 13301, 2002 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 11428, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 24106, 2002 WL 31655167
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedNovember 26, 2002
Docket01-30360
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 311 F.3d 989 (United States v. Victor Hackett) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth 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. Victor Hackett, 311 F.3d 989, 2002 Daily Journal DAR 13301, 2002 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 11428, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 24106, 2002 WL 31655167 (9th Cir. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

REAVLEY, Circuit Judge.

DefendanL-Appellant Victor Hackett appeals the district court’s order of restitution for property damage caused by a fire that resulted from the operation of a methamphetamine laboratory. He argues that the district court erred (1) by applying 21 U.S.C. § 853(q)(3) to order restitution for property damage, and (2) by finding that he directly and proximately caused the loss. We affirm.

Background

Victor Hackett pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the manufacture of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 and 18 U.S.C. § 2. Hackett’s co-defendant Shandy Felch rented a home in Spokane, Washington, in which she, her three children, and co-defendant Brady Olds lived. Felch and Olds manufactured metham *991 phetamine in the upstairs bedroom of the home. Haekett was a frequent visitor and occasional overnight guest at the residence, and he and Olds purchased or stole items necessary for operation of the clandestine methamphetamine laboratory. The drugs manufactured at the home were consumed by Felch, Olds, and Haekett.

On February 26, 2001, Felch placed a jar of chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine on a hotplate. The jar exploded and a fire ensued. Although Haekett was not present when the fire started, he had spent the prior evening at the house using methamphetamine. Felch fled the house when the fire began, but she later turned herself in to fire investigators and spoke to agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Haekett and his co-defendants were indicted for endangering human life while illegally manufacturing a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 858, and conspiracy to do the same, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Each defendant arrived at a plea agreement with prosecutors. Haekett pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the manufacture of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 51 months in prison.

As a result of the damage caused by the fire, Farmers Insurance Group paid $47,977.74 to the owner of the house in which the laboratory was located. At sentencing, the district judge ordered that the defendants be jointly and severally liable to Farmers for restitution in this amount.

Discussion

“A restitution order is reviewed for an abuse of discretion, provided that it is within the bounds of the statutory frame-work. Factual findings supporting an order of restitution are reviewed for clear error. The legality of an order of restitution is reviewed de novo.” United States v. Stoddard, 150 F.3d 1140, 1147 (9th Cir.1998) (citations omitted). We thus review the district court’s application of 21 U.S.C. § 853(q)(3) de novo, and we review the district court’s factual conclusions regarding causation for clear error.

Mandatory Restitution for Offenses Involving the Manufacture of Methamphetamine

Haekett first contends the district court erred by failing to consider his ability to pay restitution in violation of the discretionary restitution statute. See 18 U.S.C. § 3663(a)(l)(B)(i)(II) (2002). The district court could not consider Hackett’s ability to pay because 21 U.S.C. § 853(q) mandates restitution for victims of methamphetamine manufacturing offenses:

Restitution for cleanup of clandestine sites

The court, when sentencing a defendant convicted of an offense ... involving the manufacture of amphetamine or methamphetamine, shall ... order restitution to any person injured as a result of the offense as provided in section 3663A of Title 18.

21 U.S.C. § 853(q)(3) (2002). Haekett argues that the statute is inapplicable to him because a “person injured” must be an individual who suffers physical or mental injury, not a person or entity that suffers financial loss. In support of this contention, Haekett notes that the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, codified as 18 U.S.C. § 3663A and referenced by 21 U.S.C. § 853(q)(3), provides different measures of loss for offenses resulting in bodily injury and offenses resulting in property damage. See 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b).

We find this argument unpersuasive. “[T]he starting point for interpreting a statute is the language of the statute itself.” Consumer Prod. Safety Comm’n *992 v. GTE Sylvania, Inc., 447 U.S. 102, 108, 100 S.Ct. 2051, 64 L.Edüd 766 (1980). Absent congressional direction to the contrary, words in statutes are to be construed according to “their ordinary, contemporary, common meaning[s].” Pioneer Inv. Servs. Co. v. Brunswick Assocs. Ltd. P’ship, 507 U.S. 380, 388, 113 S.Ct. 1489, 123 L.Ed.2d 74 (1993) (quoting Perrin v. United States, 444 U.S. 37, 42, 100 S.Ct. 311, 62 L.Ed.2d 199 (1979)). In modern legal usage, “injury” is ordinarily synonymous with damage resulting from the violation of a legal right for which the law provides a remedy. See Black's Law Dictionary 789 (7th ed.1999); see also Clark v. City of Lakewood, 259 F.3d 996, 1006-07 (9th Cir.2001) (interpreting Article Ill’s requirement of an “injury-in-fact” to include loss of business revenue); Berg v. First State Ins. Co., 915 F.2d 460, 464 (9th Cir.1990) (interpreting “injury” as financial loss in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act); Roemer v. Comm’r,

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311 F.3d 989, 2002 Daily Journal DAR 13301, 2002 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 11428, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 24106, 2002 WL 31655167, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-victor-hackett-ca9-2002.