In re Sealed Case

• Citation: 242 F.Supp.2d 489
• Parties: In re: SEALED CASE. No. CRIM.NO. SEALED.
• Decision Date: 31 January 2003
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

242 F.Supp.2d 489

In re: SEALED CASE.

No. CRIM.NO. SEALED.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

January 31, 2003.

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S RELEASE ON BOND

GADOLA, District Judge.

I. BACKGROUND

Before the Court is a stipulation for Defendant's release on bond pending sentencing in this criminal case. The intended purpose of this release is to afford Defendant the opportunity to cooperate with the Government. The Court will deny release on bond because (1) Defendant's detention in this situation is mandatory, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3143(a)(2), and (2) the Court lacks jurisdiction to determine whether any exceptional reasons, under 18 U.S.C. § 3145(c), merit the release of Defendant.

II. ANALYSIS

A. 18 U.S.C. § 3143(a)(2) Controls

Defendant's detention pending sentencing is governed by the mandatory detention provisions of § 3143(a)(2). This section states:

The judicial officer shall order that a person who has been found guilty of an offense in a case described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of [18 U.S.C. § 3142(f)(1) ] and is awaiting imposition or execution of sentence be detained unless-18

(A) (i) the judicial officer finds there is a substantial likelihood that a motion for acquittal or new trial will be granted; or

(ii) an attorney for the Government has recommended that no sentence of imprisonment be imposed on the person; and

(B) the judicial officer finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person is not likely to flee or pose a danger to any other person or the community.

U.S.C. § 3143(a)(2) (emphasis added). Mandatory detention under § 3143(a)(2) is required whether a defendant was detained or released pending trial.

In this case, § 3143(a)(2) controls because Defendant has been found guilty of an offense itemized in 18 U.S.C. § 3142(f)(1)(A)-(C). Section 3142(f)(1)(B) covers offenses "for which the maximum sentence is life imprisonment or death." Section 3142(f)(1)(C) describes, inter alia, offenses "for which a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or more is prescribed in the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.)." Here, Defendant was found guilty of (i.e., pleaded guilty to) three counts of the Indictment, including Count One: conspiracy to distribute marijuana, 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), and 846. These statutory provisions are a part of the Controlled Substances Act, and, as stated in the Presentence Investigation Report, Count One carries a statutory minimum incarceration period of ten years and a maximum of life. Therefore, Defendant was found guilty of "an offense for which the maximum sentence is life imprisonment," § 3142(f)(1)(B), and Defendant was found guilty of "an offense for which a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or more is prescribed in the Controlled Substances Act," § 3142(f)(1)(C). Consequently, § 3143(a)(2) controls this detention determination.

B. 18 U.S.C. § 3143(a)(2) Requires Detention

Section 3143(a)(2) does not give the Court discretion to release a defendant unless one of the two exceptions of § 3143(a)(2)(A) are met. Then, if one of those two exceptions is satisfied, the additional exception of § 3143(a)(2)(B) must also be met.

In this case, the two exceptions of § 3143(a)(2)(A) are not satisfied. First, there is not "a substantial likelihood that a motion for acquittal or new trial will be granted" due to Defendant's guilty plea. 18 U.S.C. § 3143(a)(2)(A)(i). Second, the Government has failed and refused to recommend "that no sentence of imprisonment be imposed" on Defendant. 18 U.S.C. § 3143(a)(2)(A)(ii).

Since neither of the exceptions in § 3143(a)(2)(A) are satisfied, the Court need not even consider the exception in § 3143(a)(2)(B). Furthermore, since the two exceptions of § 3143(a)(2)(A) are inapplicable in this case, the Court must detain Defendant under the explicit terms of § 3143(a)(2) ("The judicial officer shall order that a person ... be detained." (emphasis added)).

C. This Court Lacks Jurisdiction to Apply the "Exceptional Reasons" Exception of 18 U.S.C. § 3145(c)

Since § 3143(a)(2) precludes the parties' requested relief, the parties seek to appeal the Defendant's mandatory detention under the "exceptional reasons" exception of 18 U.S.C. § 3145(c).¹ Section 3145(c) states:

An appeal from a release or detention order, or from a decision denying revocation or amendment of such an order, is governed by the provisions of [28 U.S.C. § 1291²] and [18 U.S.C. § 3731.³] The appeal shall be determined promptly. A person subject to detention pursuant to section 3143(a)(2) or (b)(2), and who meets the conditions of release set forth in section 3143(a)(1) or (b)(1), may be ordered released, under appropriate conditions, by the judicial officer, if it is clearly shown that there are exceptional reasons why such person's detention would not be appropriate.

18 U.S.C. § 3145(c) (emphasis added).

The parties contend that this Court has the jurisdiction to act under § 3145(c). Nonetheless, "federal courts have an independent obligation to investigate and police the boundaries of their own jurisdiction." Douglas v. E.G. Baldwin & Assocs., Inc., 150 F.3d 604, 607 (6th Cir.1998). In fulfilling this obligation, the Court has determined that, contrary to the parties' contention, this Court lacks jurisdiction to issue § 3145(c) relief; Congress has mandated that the United States Courts of Appeals are the only courts with the jurisdiction to override a § 3143(a)(2) mandatory detention and order the release of a defendant because of exceptional reasons, pursuant to § 3145(c). See United States v. Salome, 870 F.Supp. 648, 652-53 (W.D.Pa.1994), affd without opinion, 96 F.3d 1436 (3d Cir.1996); United States v. Nesser, 937 F.Supp. 507, 508-09 (W.D.Pa.1996); United States v. Young, No. 01-50035, Docket Entry 200, at 3-5 (E.D.Mich. Nov. 19, 2002) (Gadola, J.).

There is no binding precedent on this Court on this jurisdictional issue, and the Court finds the following statutory interpretation and holding of Salome to be highly persuasive:

[T]he court finds that the jurisdiction established by § 314.5(c) is appellate jurisdiction, not original jurisdiction to act independently. Accordingly, as this court issued the defendant's detention, order in the first instance, we have no authority pursuant to § 3145(c) to determine whether there are "exceptional reasons" that make defendant's detention inappropriate in this case.

The court makes this ruling notwithstanding our careful consideration of the many circuit court decisions to the contrary.⁴ ... As noted by Judge Billings in United States v. Bloomer, 791 F.Supp. 100, 102 n. 1 (D.Vt.1992), these circuit court decisions, "however wellintentioned, reflect a certain circularity of reasoning." We agree. Furthermore, these decisions ignore certain fundamental principles of statutory interpretation.

First, the plain language of § 3145(c) compels the conclusion that it is applicable only on appeal. The provision is entitled "Appeal from a release or detention order." The first sentence of the subsection provides: "An appeal from a release or detention order, ... is governed by the provisions of [28 U.S.C. § 1291]." [Section] 1291 authorizes appeals only from final decisions of the district courts. In light of this language, it is illogical to postulate that a district court should apply § 3145(c) when initially ruling on a release or detention motion.

Second, the overall structure of § 3145 belies the argument that § 3145(c) should be applied by a district court. Sections 3145(a) and 3145(b) provide for review of the conditions of a release order, or of a detention order, if the order is entered by a magistrate or "a person other than a judge of a court having original jurisdiction over the offense and other than a Federal appellate court." 18 U.S.C. §§ 3145(a) and (b). Review is provided in the court having original jurisdiction over the offense. Because § 3145(c) provides that appeal from a release or detention order is governed by § 1291, which authorizes appeals only from final decisions of the district courts, an order entered by someone other than the district court judge must be reviewed by the district judge before appeal can be taken to the court of appeals. If release or detention is ordered initially by the district court, as in this case, § 3145(c) provides for direct appeal to the courts of appeals. Wright, Miller & Cooper, Federal Practice and Procedure § 3918.2 at 439-40 (2d ed.1991).

Third, there is little support for the argument that the "exceptional reasons" provision of § 3145(c) should be read in conjunction with those provisions of § 3143 that outline the general procedures by which a judicial officer determines whether a defendant should be detained or released pending sentence or appeal. If the Congress had intended to invest district courts with the discretion to determine whether "exceptional reasons" existed, this court believes it would have said so in § 3143. The fact that Congress inserted the "exceptional reasons" language in § 3145(c) indicates that they intended this discretion to be limited to the judges of the courts of appeals.

Finally, some courts have suggested that § 3145(c) is applicable to the district courts simply because the federal appellate courts are not positioned to make factual findings which may [be] required to determine whether "exceptional reasons" exist. We reject this argument. We find support for this position in United States v. Provenzano, 605 F.2d 85 (3d Cir.1979). In Provenzano, the Third Circuit held that a court of appeals has a nondelegable responsibility to make an independent determination of the merits of a bail application pending the appeal of a conviction. The court grounded its ruling upon Fed. R.App. P. 9(b), which states that motions for release or modification of the conditions of bail "shall be determined promptly on such papers, affidavits, and portions...