United States v. Ransom

Decision Date01 July 2014
Docket NumberNos. 12–3049,12–3075.,s. 12–3049
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Appellee v. Chester D. RANSOM, Jr., Appellant.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, (No. 1:11–cr–00357).

Matthew G. Kaiser, appointed by the court, argued the cause and filed the joint briefs for appellant Bryan W. Talbott.

Richard Seligman, appointed by the court, argued the cause and filed the joint briefs for appellant Chester D. Ransom, Jr.

Jay Apperson, Assistant U.S. Attorney, argued the cause for appellee. With him on the brief were Ronald C. Machen, Jr., U.S. Attorney, and Elizabeth Trosman and Suzanne Grealy Curt, Assistant U.S. Attorneys.

Before: GARLAND, Chief Judge, ROGERS, Circuit Judge, and SENTELLE, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion for the Court filed by Senior Circuit Judge SENTELLE.

SENTELLE, Senior Circuit Judge:

Appellants Chester Ransom and Bryan Talbott pled guilty to fraud charges in the district court in connection with the operation of their property management company. Although their plea agreements stipulated the range of prison sentences under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, the district court sentenced both Ransom and Talbott to above-Guidelines sentences. Both appellants claim that the district court committed procedural and substantive errors in entering the sentences. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the district court committed no error, and therefore affirm the judgment of the district court.

Background

From 2004 until 2011 appellants Chester Ransom and Bryan Talbott owned and operated a property management company. In 2012 the government charged Ransom and Talbott, in connection with their running of the company, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud; conspiracy to commit mail fraud; and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Both Ransom and Talbott signed plea agreements with the government, acknowledging their guilt of the charges. The plea agreements contained waiver-of-appeal clauses. Each plea agreement also contained a stipulated United States Sentencing Guidelines (“USSG” or “Guidelines”) range of 46–57 months. At Ransom's sentencing hearing, the district court calculated the Guidelines range at the stipulated 46–57 months, but sentenced Ransom to an above-Guidelines sentence of 72 months. Ransom did not object to his sentence. At Talbott's sentencing hearing, the court calculated the Guidelines range at 63–78 months, but imposed an above-Guidelines sentence of 120 months. Talbott also did not object to his sentence. In neither plea agreement did the Sentencing Guidelines stipulation purport to bind the sentencing court or promise a specific sentence. Indeed, each agreement explicitly described the Guidelines as non-mandatory and specified that the decision on sentencing would be made by the presiding judge.

Ransom and Talbott now appeal their above-Guidelines sentences.

Discussion
A. Waiver of Appeal

Both Ransom and Talbott acknowledge that in their plea agreements they waived their right to appeal their sentences. But Talbott notes that in the plea agreement both he and the government agreed that neither party would seek a sentencing departure from what was stated in the agreement. Since the government subsequently asked to be relieved of this agreement, seeking an upward departure, Talbott argues then he should be relieved of his waiver of appeal. The government replies that in light of its departure request it is not seeking to enforce Talbott's waiver.

Ransom, in turn, argues that, notwithstanding the appeal waiver in his plea agreement, he in fact never waived his rights because his lawyer was ineffective and the sentencing court did not follow fair sentencing procedures. The government replies that Ransom knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to appeal his sentence, that at his plea hearing under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Ransom swore that he had read, understood, and signed the plea agreement, and that Ransom was not prejudiced by any alleged failure on the part of his counsel. The government further replies that it is clear from the record that the sentencing procedures were fair. We need not decide whether Ransom's appeal waiver should stand, however, since we determine that even if Ransom had not waived his right to appeal, his arguments made on appeal are meritless.

B. Arguments Made on Appeal by Ransom

Ransom argues (as does Talbott, see section C below) that his sentence was both procedurally flawed and substantively unreasonable. First, he contends that at sentencing the district court erred procedurally when it imposed a Guidelines sentence of 72 months—15 months above the 46–57 months Guidelines range—without proper explanation on the record as to why a sentence above the Guidelines was being imposed. See18 U.S.C. § 3553(c)(2) (if the court imposes a sentence outside the Guidelines range then the court must state “the specific reason” for the variance). Ransom acknowledges that at sentencing he did not object to his sentence. Consequently, we review the district court's sentencing procedures for plain error. See United States v. Locke, 664 F.3d 353, 356 (D.C.Cir.2011) (“Because Locke did not challenge the adequacy of the district court's statement of reasons below, we review her claim for plain error.”).

Ransom asserts that the only explanations given by the district court for his above-Guidelines sentence were the number of victims, abuse of trust, and the commission of the instant offense while he was on probation. Concerning the number of victims, Ransom claims that this was already taken into account by the Guidelines. Concerning an abuse of trust, Ransom claims that this issue was not addressed by the presentence report and that it is not at all clear that it would apply in his case. Finally, concerning the commission of the instant offense while he was on probation, Ransom claims that this too was already taken into account by the Guidelines. Taking all of this into consideration, Ransom contends that the district court failed to explain adequately the reason for the sentence it imposed on him and therefore committed plain error.

To prevail under the plain error standard, an appellant must “demonstrate that the district court: (1) committed error; (2) that is plain; and (3) that affects [his] substantial rights,” and [i]f all three conditions are met, and if the error seriouslyaffects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings, an appellate court may then exercise its discretion to notice a forfeited error.” Id. (internal citations and alterations omitted). At sentencing, the district court gave a detailed explanation for its above-Guidelines sentence, including identifying specific factors that it considered under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and the court's explanation was both extensive and individualized.

In arriving at Ransom's above-Guidelines sentence, the district court considered the underlying facts of Ransom's criminal past, including having operated with Talbott a property management company that embezzled from its clients—the same type of offense that was now before the court. The court also considered that in the present case Ransom's clients trusted him with their money and their property, that he abused that trust, and that this abuse of trust was not included in Ransom's Guidelines calculation. The district court further made clear in imposing sentence that it considered the number of victims who submitted victim impact statements, which detailed Ransom's wrongdoing and the severe harm that he caused them. Finally, the district court echoed its detailed explanation for an above-Guidelines sentence in its written Statement of Reasons.*See18 U.S.C. § 3553(c)(2) (if an outside Guidelines sentence is imposed the “reasons must ... be stated with specificity in a statement of reasons form ...”). We conclude that procedurally the district court committed no error, let alone plain error, in sentencing Ransom.

Second, Ransom argues that his sentence was substantively unreasonable. In particular, Ransom asserts that the district court gave no compelling reasons for imposing a sentence 15 months in excess of the Guidelines. See In re Sealed Case, 527 F.3d 188, 191 (D.C.Cir.2008) (“If the court decides to impose a sentence outside the Guidelines, it ‘must consider the extent of the deviation and ensure that the justification is sufficiently compelling to support the degree of the variance.’ (quoting Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 50, 128 S.Ct. 586, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007))). In support of this contention, Ransom relies on what he deems an inconsistency in the court's rationale. He points out that the court accepted the presentence report recommendation that the defendant receive a 3–point reduction in the Guidelines calculation based on his acceptance of responsibility. SeeU.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(a) & (b). He then points out that the court stated that a justification for the upward variance was Ransom's lack of remorse. These two elements of the court's consideration are not inherently inconsistent. Without Ransom's early admissions of his involvement in the crime and assistance in the investigation, the court could nonetheless have raised the sentence but starting from a higher baseline. A defendant who admits his guilt and assists in an investigation may be indeed remorseful, or he may simply be practical enough to know that he is assisting his cause.

Furthermore, at the time of sentencing, Ransom, after repeated requests, had still not submitted a financial statement as contemplated at the time of the plea agreement. As the court explicitly stated at sentencing, “How can he get credit for acceptance of responsibility and for complying with the plea agreement if he hasn't done that? That's like the most basic thing.” Ransom also states that the district...

To continue reading

Request your trial
14 cases
  • United States v. Rosales-Bruno
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
    • June 19, 2015
    ...by the D.C. Circuit. See generally Marx, supra. (comparing United States v. Musgrave, 761 F.3d 602 (6th Cir.2014) and United States v. Ransom, 756 F.3d 770 (D.C.Cir.2014) ). Other than quoting Judge Martin's separate opinion in Early, Marx's article mentions our circuit only in passing, say......
  • United States v. Hunt, 15-3084
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit
    • December 20, 2016
    ...claims on merits where alleged waiver implicated "difficult" and "unsettled" issues better left for another day); United States v. Ransom , 756 F.3d 770, 773 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (taking similar approach). We decide the waiver issue here in the interest of sound judicial administration: the pro......
  • United States v. Miller
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit
    • May 31, 2022
    ...for those factors, or when a district court applies broader § 3553(a) considerations in granting the variance." United States v. Ransom , 756 F.3d 770, 775 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Second, the district court can rely on hearsay as evidence for its fi......
  • United States v. Bigley, 12–3022.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit
    • May 15, 2015
    ...fails to timely raise a procedural reasonableness objection at sentencing, this Court reviews for plain error. See United States v. Ransom, 756 F.3d 770, 773 (D.C.Cir.2014) (“Ransom acknowledges that at sentencing he did not object to his sentence[ ] ... we review the district court's sente......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT