United States v. Young

910 F.3d 665
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit·Decided December 12, 2018·No. 16-3458-cr; August Term 2018·Published·Cited by 29 cases

Opinion

José A. Cabranes, Circuit Judge:

The principal question presented is whether the District Court improperly delegated its judicial authority to the United States Probation Office when it ordered as a special condition of supervised release that the defendant submit to mental health and substance abuse testing and evaluation and follow "any treatment recommendations." The defendant Allen M. Young ("Young") further argues that his sentence is procedurally unreasonable because: (1) the District Court erroneously applied the official victim enhancement of United States Sentencing Guidelines section 3A1.2(c)(1) ; and (2) the District Court failed to grant a downward departure pursuant to United States Sentencing Guidelines section 5K2.23. We conclude that the District Court did not improperly delegate its judicial authority and that the sentence is not procedurally unreasonable and therefore AFFIRM the October 11, 2016 judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York (Frank P. Geraci, Jr., Judge ).

I. BACKGROUND

Young appeals from an October 11, 2016 judgment of the District Court convicting *668 him, following a guilty plea, of possession with intent to distribute methylone in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 851. The District Court sentenced Young to 200 months' imprisonment to be followed by six years of supervised release, as well as a special assessment. On appeal, Young argues that the District Court erred by delegating to the Probation Office the decision of whether Young, upon release, would be required to participate in mental health or substance abuse treatment. He further argues that his sentence is procedurally unreasonable because: (1) the District Court erroneously applied the official victim enhancement of United States Sentencing Guidelines section 3A1.2(c)(1) ; 1 and (2) the District Court failed to grant a downward departure pursuant to United States Sentencing Guidelines section 5K2.23. 2

We review the imposition of conditions of supervised release for "abuse of discretion." 3 We review legal issues arising from the imposition of such conditions de novo, and of course an error of law constitutes an abuse of discretion. 4 When a defendant fails to object to a condition, we typically review for plain error, but we may "relax the otherwise rigorous standards of plain error review" under certain circumstances, such as where a defendant lacked prior notice of the challenged condition. 5

The procedural reasonableness of a sentence is likewise reviewed for "abuse of discretion." 6 A district court's interpretation of the Guidelines is reviewed de novo; its findings of fact are reviewed for clear error. 7

II. DISCUSSION

A. Delegation to the Probation Office

1. Law

United States probation officers serve as "officers of the court." 8 In their capacity as confidential advisers to the court, federal probation officers are regarded as "the court's eyes and ears, ... neutral information gatherer[ers] with loyalties *669 to no one but the court." 9 Indeed, because "the United States Probation Office is established pursuant to the direction of Congress as an arm of the United States District Court, it is reasonable to view the United States Probation Office itself as a legally constituted arm of the judicial branch." 10 Although the Probation Office is undeniably part of the federal judiciary, we have nonetheless stated that there are limits on a District Court's ability to delegate judicial authority to a probation officer.

In determining whether the District Court impermissibly delegated its authority to the United States Probation Office when it imposed on Young special mental health and substance abuse conditions, we are guided by this Court's precedents in United States v. Peterson 11 and United States v. Matta . 12

In Peterson , we confronted the following special condition of probation: "[T]he defendant is to enroll, attend and participate in mental health intervention specifically designed for the treatment of sexual predators as directed by the U.S. Probation Office ." 13 Our discussion focused principally on the ambiguity in the special condition's language. We noted that while the first clause ("[t]he defendant is to enroll, attend and participate") suggests that mental health treatment is mandatory, the second clause ("as directed by the U.S. Probation Office") could be understood to qualify the mandatory nature of that obligation. 14 We vacated and remanded this aspect of the sentence so that, upon resentencing, the district court could resolve this ambiguity and clarify whether it intended mandatory therapy. As we explained, "[i]f the district court intends that the therapy be mandatory but leaves a variety of details, including the selection of a therapy provider and schedule to the probation officer, such a condition of probation may be imposed." 15 If, however, "the court intends to leave the issue of the defendant's participation in therapy to the discretion of the probation officer, such a condition would constitute an impermissible delegation of judicial authority and should not be included." 16 In sum, it was the district court's inclusion of the clause "as directed by the U.S. Probation Office" that rendered the otherwise mandatory special condition of counseling ambiguous and potentially unlawful.

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United States v. Young, 910 F.3d 665 (2d Cir. 2018).

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