United States v. Martin

• Decision Date: 26 February 2019
• Docket Number: No. 17-6200,No. 17-6199,17-6199
• Citation: 916 F.3d 389
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Paulette MARTIN, a/k/a Paulette Murphy, a/k/a Paulette Akuffo, a/k/a Paula Murphy, a/k/a Auntie, Defendant–Appellant. United States of America, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Luis Felipe Mangual, Sr., Defendant–Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

916 F.3d 389

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee,

v.Paulette MARTIN, a/k/a Paulette Murphy, a/k/a Paulette Akuffo, a/k/a Paula Murphy, a/k/a Auntie, Defendant–Appellant.

United States of America, Plaintiff–Appellee,

v.Luis Felipe Mangual, Sr., Defendant–Appellant.

No. 17-6199

No. 17-6200

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued: December 11, 2018

Decided: February 26, 2019

ARGUED: Sapna Mirchandani, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellant. Ellen Elisabeth Cobb, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: James Wyda, Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. Robert K. Hur, United States Attorney, Stephen M. Schenning, Acting United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, David I. Salem, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee.

Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, MOTZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.

Vacated and remanded by published opinion. Chief Judge Gregory wrote the opinion, in which Judge Motz and Judge Floyd joined.

GREGORY, Chief Judge:

Defendants-Appellants Paulette Martin and Luis Felipe Mangual Sr. both filed motions for sentence reductions under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) and now appeal adverse district court rulings. Because the district court failed to provide Martin and Mangual with individualized explanations for its rulings on their respective motions, we vacate and remand.

I.

A.

A jury convicted Martin in 2006 of various drug and drug-related offenses in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, 21 U.S.C. § 843(b), and 21 U.S.C. § 841(a). Martin served as a leader in a drug conspiracy for at least seven years—a conspiracy involving a large quantity of cocaine and heroin—and even though she did not engage in violence, her co-conspirators carried firearms. Given this information, the Presentence Report calculated Martin's adjusted combined offense level as a 44. Martin had only one prior conviction, dating back to 1986 and therefore had a criminal history category of I. The Sentencing Guidelines' calculations recommended Martin face life imprisonment for her crimes. The district court noted the severity of Martin's criminal activity and sentenced her to life imprisonment, and this Court affirmed Martin's conviction and sentence. United States v. Martin , 452 F. App'x 239 (4th Cir. 2011).

In February 2015, Martin filed a pro se motion for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), seeking the benefit of Amendment 782,^* which lowered the base offense levels applicable to drug offenses by two offense levels. This could afford Martin sentencing relief if her Guidelines range were recalculated at an adjusted combined offense level of 42 instead of her original 44. Martin asserted her eligibility for reduction based on Amendment 782, but also emphasized her work tutoring other inmates, the number and variety of courses she completed while incarcerated, and her exemplary prison record. Martin explained how she lacked any connection to organized drug-based criminal enterprises and that she would not be a threat to society at her age. Martin further contended that she could possibly serve as a mentor to misguided youth upon her release from prison. In addition to Martin's pro se motion, the Office of the Federal Public Defender filed a motion on her behalf, argued that her revised Guidelines range after factoring in Amendment 782 would be 360 months to life imprisonment, and requested the court to provide a sentence on the low end of that range. The probation officer agreed and recommended a reduction in the sentence from life to 360 months.

The Government opposed Martin's motion and countered both that Martin was ineligible for relief and that the § 3553(a) factors did not weigh in favor of granting the motion, emphasizing the court's comments at sentencing about the seriousness of the crimes and the need to protect the public from Martin, a leader of an extensive drug-trafficking operation.

Martin's counsel argued at the hearing that she is eligible for the reduction and that the Sentencing Guidelines previously offered only one maximum advisory sentence to the court, life imprisonment, and that there was nothing to indicate from the sentencing hearing that a 360-month sentence would not also serve the goals of sentencing. Counsel informed the court that Martin's good behavior had earned her a place in a low security facility and that she had earned her GED and become a respected tutor for other inmates. Despite this productive record, counsel explained, Martin is precluded from earning good time credits and participating in other programs because of her life sentence. Counsel rejected the suggestion that Martin would be a threat to society if released after 360 months, considering her history of nonviolence and her age of 84 at the time of her release. Finally, counsel argued that it would be costly and promote no legitimate governmental aim to incarcerate Martin in her advanced years.

In March 2016, the district court denied Martin's motion for a sentence reduction by checking the "DENIED " box on the form order. We vacated the judgment and remanded because we could not determine "whether the court concluded that Martin was ineligible for a sentence reduction or, alternatively, whether the court decided that such a reduction was unwarranted in light of the § 3553(a) factors and Martin's post-sentencing conduct." United States v. Martin , 669 F. App'x 132, 133 (4th Cir. 2016). This Court found that "[b]ecause the parties presented fully developed, nonfrivolous arguments as to both steps of the sentence reduction inquiry, we could only speculate as to the basis for the district court's decision." Id.

Upon remand, the district court stated in an order that it had once again reviewed Martin's motion for a sentence reduction, counsel's correspondence to the court, and the Government's response in opposition. As an initial matter, the district court found Martin eligible for relief because the bottom of her Guidelines range had been reduced from life to 360 months under Amendment 782. However, the court determined that a sentence reduction was not warranted based on its discretion "[a]fter carefully weighing the § 3553(a) factors." The court explained that Martin "ran a large, multi-million-dollar, multi-jurisdiction drug operation, spanning Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and operated it for years. The seriousness of her actions and offenses cannot easily be overstated." For those reasons and the ones "set forth in the Government's Response," the court denied Martin's motion for a sentence reduction. Martin timely filed her notice of appeal. This Court has jurisdiction over Martin's appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742.

B.

In 2006, Mangual entered into a guilty plea agreement for a nonviolent drug offense in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Mangual admitted that for about two years he engaged in a drug-trafficking conspiracy involving over 150 kilograms of cocaine and 20 kilograms of heroin. The Presentence Report calculated Mangual's adjusted combined offense level as a 36. Mangual had a 1994 drug offense and a criminal history category of II. His Sentencing Guidelines range was 210 to 262 months' imprisonment.

The district court sentenced Mangual to 262 months' imprisonment, the top of the guidelines range. Mangual's sentencing transcript is not in the record, and the only indication this Court has of the district court's reasoning is a brief note included in the Statement of Reasons in the court's Judgement. There, the district court stated that a "sentence at the top of the guideline range is appropriate because of the large quantity of drugs and the defendant's prior conviction of the same type of offense."

In April 2015, Mangual filed a pro se motion for a sentence reduction under § 3582(c)(2), seeking the benefit of Amendment 782. Mangual contended that after the application of Amendment 782, his Sentencing Guidelines range is 168 to 210 months' imprisonment. In a 2015 letter to the court, Mangual, a 75-year-old inmate at that time, asserted that, during his 10 years in prison, his sole disciplinary infraction was for missing count when he did not hear the count call. He further notified the court that the jail placed him on medical furloughs four times, that he has had open heart surgery, and that he is in "chronic care" and taking multiple medications. Mangual explained that the mother of his children is also sick, and he expressed his desire to spend his last years with her and their children, 15 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren. Mangual said he exhausted the educational opportunities he had access to while incarcerated. Moreover, Mangual asserted that he has tried to better himself while in jail: he and another inmate "put together a concept called ‘The People/The Solution,’ " which is "an educational and awareness tool to motivate the people to help others" and thereby help themselves.

On December 14, 2016, the Federal Defender filed a motion on Mangual's behalf, urging the court to reduce his sentence to 168 months' imprisonment, the bottom of his amended Guidelines range. Counsel emphasized that Mangual "was not a leader or manager of the conspiracy (of the 31 people charged, he was the 25th named defendant); his conduct was not violent (he served as a middleman in drug sales); and he neither used nor possessed a weapon at any time." Counsel also observed that Mangual's post-sentencing conduct was "outstanding": he "has built a solid employment record" in prison; "has completed his court-ordered financial obligations"; and "has a nearly flawless disciplinary record." Indeed, due to his exemplary conduct, he has been designated to a minimum-security facility and is eligible to work outside the prison compound. Finally, counsel argued that Mangual was unlikely to recidivate...