U.S. v. Marroquin, 97-1653

• Decision Date: 09 January 1998
• Docket Number: No. 97-1653,97-1653
• Citation: 136 F.3d 220
• Parties: UNITED STATES, Appellee, v. Willy MARROQUIN, a/k/a Willy Adolfo Marroquin Mendez, Defendant, Appellant. . Heard
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 220

136 F.3d 220

UNITED STATES, Appellee, v. Willy MARROQUIN, a/k/a Willy Adolfo Marroquin Mendez,

Defendant, Appellant.

No. 97-1653.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Heard Jan. 9, 1998.

Decided Feb. 17, 1998.

Bruce Green, for appellant.

Margaret E. Curran, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Sheldon Whitehouse, United States Attorney, and Stephanie S. Browne, Assistant United States Attorney, Providence, RI, were on brief for appellee.

Before STAHL, Circuit Judge, CAMPBELL, Senior Circuit Judge, and LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

CAMPBELL, Senior Circuit Judge.

This appeal is from the district court's confirmation of defendant's sentence following this court's previous remand directing it to reconsider that sentence. Defendant-appellant Willy Marroquin insists that the district court continues to err by denying him a one-level decrease pursuant to United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual ("U.S.S.G.") § 3E1.1(b)(2). ¹ The question before us is whether the district court exceeded its authority under the Guidelines in determining that the defendant failed to provide "timely notif[ication to] authorities of his intention to enter a plea of guilty, thereby permitting the government to avoid preparing for trial and permitting the court to allocate its resources efficiently." U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b)(2). As we conclude the ruling was an abuse of discretion, we reverse.

I. BACKGROUND

On February 1, 1995, a Rhode Island grand jury returned an eighteen-count indictment charging Marroquin and four other defendants with drug trafficking offenses. Marroquin was arraigned on February 3, 1995. On February 10, 1995 and March 5, 1995, Marroquin filed various pre-trial motions, including motions: (1) to retain rough notes; (2) for discovery and inspection; (3) to identify confidential informant; (4) for a bill of particulars; (5) to revoke his detention order; (6) to suppress contraband; (7) to sever defendants; and (8) to enlarge time to file pre-trial memoranda until April 30.

On March 22, 1995, the district court issued a Notice of Jury Calendar Call for Marroquin's case. This case, along with other pending cases, was set down to be called for trial on April 13, 1995.

On March 24, March 30, and April 3, 1995, the government responded to seven of Marroquin's pre-trial motions. ² On April 4, a day after the government's last response, the government entered into a plea agreement with Marroquin. This agreement included the following:

The government agrees that if the Court is satisfied that the defendant has accepted responsibility at the time of sentencing, the defendant should be entitled to a three-level reduction in offense level pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b)(2).

The same day, Marroquin pleaded guilty to four counts of distributing heroin and one count of distributing cocaine.

The Presentence Investigation Report did not include any recommended adjustment for acceptance of responsibility, but the probation officer indicated that if the district court found that Marroquin had accepted responsibility, Marroquin should receive a three-level reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, including a one-level reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b)(2) for entering a timely plea.

On September 26, 1995, the district court held a sentencing hearing, at which it heard argument on acceptance of responsibility. Consistent with its plea agreement, the government did not oppose the application of a three-level reduction, nor did it argue that Marroquin had failed to plead in a timely manner. However, without mentioning the specific U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b) criteria, the court stated that it was "prepared to allow the two-point reduction, not a three-point reduction under these circumstances."

Marroquin appealed to this court, alleging the district court had erred in denying him an additional one-level decrease under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b)(2) without making any findings that he had failed to meet the relevant criteria. The government agreed with Marroquin that the district court had not properly applied U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b) and moved for summary disposition in Marroquin's favor. The government contended that Marroquin was entitled to the extra reduction because of his early plea and because the "record suggest[ed] no obvious basis for denying [the additional decrease]." On December 27, 1996, in an unpublished, per curiam opinion, we vacated Marroquin's sentence and remanded "to the district court for resentencing after consideration of the § 3E1.1(b) criteria."

On April 2, 1997, the district court held a resentencing hearing to determine whether Marroquin was eligible for a one-level decrease. Marroquin argued that he was entitled to the decrease because he had satisfied the criteria in the Sentencing Guidelines. The government attorney who had reached the initial plea agreement had died by the time of the resentencing hearing, but the new government lawyer declared that the files did not reflect any trial preparation on the government's part. The government explained that it had done a chemical analysis of the drugs and had responded to Marroquin's pre-trial motions, but the case file did not contain notes for examining witnesses, draft jury instructions, or other such material. The district court judge then examined the government's responses to Marroquin's motions.

Following the sentencing hearing, the district court again denied Marroquin's request for a one-level decrease. Despite the government's statements to the contrary, the court ruled that Marroquin had announced his intention to plead guilty too late to relieve the government of the burden of preparing for trial. The court observed that the case against Marroquin would not require "hours and hours of preparation," and that the government's main witness, an undercover DEA Agent, was familiar with the courtroom and had already prepared affidavits. Further, the court noted that the government had performed a chemical analysis on the controlled substances and had done "a great deal of work in responding to [Marroquin]'s motions, even up to the date before the plea agreement." Based on these observations, the court concluded that the government had engaged in significant trial preparation.

The court also mentioned in passing that it had "give[n] notice of the trial calendar prior to the time that the authorities were notified of intention to enter a plea of guilty." Accordingly, the district court denied Marroquin's request for a one-level decrease under § 3E1.1(b)(2). ³ Marroquin took this appeal.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A sentencing court's evaluation of a defendant's acceptance of responsibility "is entitled to great deference on review." U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, comment (n.5). Here, however, Marroquin has already been found to have accepted responsibility under § 3E1.1(a). This leaves open only the narrower question whether he has complied with the elements specified in § 3E1.1(b)(2) as preconditions to the additional one-level decrease. While we review Guidelines rulings of the district court under an abuse of discretion standard, the Supreme Court has said that a district court commits an abuse of discretion by definition when it makes an error of law. Koon v. United States, 518 U.S. 81, 94-102, 116 S.Ct. 2035, 2045-48, 135 L.Ed.2d 392 (1996). Hence to the extent it becomes a question of law whether there has been compliance with mandatory Guideline criteria such as those in § 3E1.1(b)(2), we do not defer to the district court. See United States v. Talladino, 38 F.3d 1255, 1264-65 (1st Cir.1994) (a district court lacks the discretion to deny the one-level adjustment when a defendant satisfies the relevant Guideline criteria). We will, of course, defer, in all such matters, to the district court's resolution of underlying facts and inferences, and pay careful attention to its reasoning. But if all Guideline criteria are met, and no basis to refuse the one-level decrease can be discerned, we cannot defer to the district court's refusal to grant the decrease.

III. DISCUSSION

Marroquin contends that he met his burden of demonstrating that he is entitled to a one-level decrease as a result of a timely plea, cf. United States v. Morillo, 8 F.3d 864, 871 (1st Cir.1993), and that the court committed clear error when it found that he had not entered a timely plea of guilty for purposes of § 3E1.1(b)(2). Section 3E1.1(b)(2) requires "timely notif[ication to] authorities of [a defendant's] intention to enter a plea" and lists two elements for determining if that happened: first, the plea must have been timely enough to have "permit[ted] the government to avoid preparing for trial"; second, its timeliness must be such as to have "permitt[ed] the court to allocate its resources efficiently." U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b)(2). We analyze these factors in turn, bearing in mind that the timeliness of defendant's acceptance of responsibility is "context-specific." United States v. Munoz, 83 F.3d 7, 8-9 n. 1 (1st Cir.1996) (citing U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1 comment (n.6)).

A. Trial Preparation by the Government.

The district court denied Marroquin's request for an additional decrease primarily because it found that the government's responses to Marroquin's pre-trial motions and the chemical analysis performed by the government constituted trial preparation, especially given the relative simplicity of the case against Marroquin. We have said in dicta that work by prosecutors in responding to pre-trial motions can constitute "preparing for trial" within the purview of § 3E1.1(b)(2). See id. However, it is obvious that not every motion will force responses that should be characterized as trial preparation. Diligent defense attorneys regularly file motions after arraignment seeking information to enable them better to understand their client's case and help their client choose whether to plead or go to trial. They may also prudently file motions so as to lay ground work for future tactical...