US v. Perez

• Decision Date: 23 May 1988
• Docket Number: Crim. No. A-87-CR-116(1),A-87-CR-116(2),A-88-CR-20(1),A-88-CR-20(4) and A-88-CR-20(5).,A-88-CR-20(3)
• Citation: 685 F. Supp. 990
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. Ricardo PEREZ and Charles Wayne Andrus. UNITED STATES of America v. Rafael Homero CARRALES, William Franklin Saathoff, Michael Ray Stelly, and John Henry Daniels.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas

685 F. Supp. 990

UNITED STATES of America v. Ricardo PEREZ and Charles Wayne Andrus.

UNITED STATES of America v. Rafael Homero CARRALES, William Franklin Saathoff, Michael Ray Stelly, and John Henry Daniels.

Crim. Nos. A-87-CR-116(1), A-87-CR-116(2), A-88-CR-20(1), A-88-CR-20(3), A-88-CR-20(4) and A-88-CR-20(5).

United States District Court, W.D. Texas, Austin Division.

May 23, 1988.

Robert Nino, Houston, Tex., for defendant Rafael Homero Carrales.

Paul Van Osselaer, Shapiro, Edens & Cook, William B. Hilgers, Hilgers & Watkins, Austin, Tex., for defendant William Franklin Saathoff.

Richard W. South, Bankston, Wright & Greenhill, Austin, Tex., for defendant Michael Ray Stelly.

William A. White, William P. Allison, White & Allison, Austin, Tex., for defendant John Henry Daniels.

Gerald H. Goldstein, Robert O. Switzer, Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley, San Antonio, Tex., for amicus curiae, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Ass'n.

John R. Steer, Gen. Counsel, Donald A. Purdy, Jr., Deputy Gen. Counsel, U.S. Sentencing Com'n, Washington, D.C., (Paul S. Bator, Andrew L. Frey, Kenneth S. Geller, Stephen G. Gilles, Mayer, Brown & Platt, Washington, D.C., of counsel), for amicus curiae U.S. Sentencing Com'n.

Frank Maloney, President, National Ass'n. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Local Counsel, Austin, Tex., Benson B. Weintraub, Sonnett Sale & Kuehne, P.A., Miami, Fla., for amicus curiae, National Ass'n. of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

ORDER

NOWLIN, District Judge.

The Court is faced with challenges filed by six defendants to the constitutionality of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, and to the Sentencing Guidelines promulgated by the United States Sentencing Commission. The challenges raise a question of supreme importance to the federal criminal justice system: whether the elaborate sentencing procedures, practices, and directives created by the United States Sentencing Commission upon Congress' mandate run counter to the dictates of the United States Constitution. Upon consideration of the arguments presented by defendants, the government, and several amici curiae,¹ the Court concludes that the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 violates both the separation of powers doctrine, and Article I, Section 7 of the United States Constitution. The Court is also of the opinion that the Sentencing Guidelines violate the due process rights of defendants.

On February 16, 1988, defendants Rafael Homero Carrales, William Franklin Saathoff, Michael Ray Stelly, and John Henry Daniels were charged in a two-count indictment with possession with intent to distribute marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2, and with importation of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 961, and 18 U.S.C. § 2. These activities allegedly occurred on or about January 20, 1988. On April 25 and 27, 1988, Carrales, Saathoff, Stelly, and Daniels each pled guilty to one count of the indictment. Since these defendants pled guilty to offenses committed after November 1, 1987, they are currently facing sentencing under the Guidelines. The only co-defendant in this case who has not yet pled guilty or faced a jury, William Allen Scannell, is currently a fugitive. Scannell's challenge to the constitutionality of the Guidelines is not addressed by this Order.

On December 1, 1987, defendants Ricardo Perez and Charles Wayne Andrus were charged in a five-count indictment with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846, and in separate counts for cocaine and for marijuana, with both possession with intent to distribute and distribution in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The indictment states that the conspiracy occurred in the month of November 1987, and continued until on or about November 20, 1987. The other offenses allegedly occurred on or about November 20, 1987. Perez and Andrus have both entered pleas of not guilty, and trial is currently scheduled for July 11, 1988. If convicted on any count, defendants will be subject to sentencing under the Guidelines.

I. RIPENESS²

The government contends that the challenges raised by defendants Ricardo Perez and Charles Wayne Andrus are not ripe for adjudication because there is no guilty plea or conviction, and therefore, the defendants lack standing. The trial of these defendants, the government maintains, could result in acquittals on all five counts, and in such an instance, there would be no necessity to reach the question of the constitutionality of the Act or the Guidelines as to these defendants.

Perez and Andrus state that their challenges to the constitutionality of the Act and the Guidelines are nonetheless ripe for consideration. Defendants desire to enter into plea negotiations. In plea negotiations, the United States Attorney's Austin Office first determines the maximum exposure the defendant could receive if indicted pursuant to the facts giving rise to the offense. The office can only offer a plea that subjects the defendant to the same amount of exposure.

Defendants also complain that the government has resisted disclosing information regarding the sentencing factors upon which it intends to rely in determining the appropriate sentence under the Guidelines. The government is of the opinion that Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16; the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500; and Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), provide for pre-trial disclosure of information to defendants, and that the Guidelines should not operate to alter the existing procedures and entitlements.

Defendants' attorneys claim that under these circumstances, negotiating a plea would constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. Defendants note that the question urged is a purely legal one, and that the interests of judicial economy and of the orderly and efficient administration of this Court's docket will be served by ruling at this time.

In determining whether an issue is ripe for determination, the Court must balance the fitness of the issues for judicial decision against the hardship to the parties of withholding court consideration. Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner, 387 U.S. 136, 148-49, 87 S.Ct. 1507, 1515, 18 L.Ed.2d 681 (1967). The disagreement "must have taken on fixed and final shape so that a court can see what legal issues it is deciding, what effect its decision will have on the adversaries, and some useful purpose to be achieved in deciding them." Public Service Commission v. Wycoff Co., 344 U.S. 237, 244, 73 S.Ct. 236, 240, 97 L.Ed. 291 (1952). If the issues raised are purely legal and will not be clarified by further factual development, then a challenge may be ripe for consideration. Thomas v. Union Carbide Agricultural Products Co., 473 U.S. 568, 581, 105 S.Ct. 3325, 3333, 87 L.Ed.2d 409 (1985).

Public policy favors immediate judicial resolution of the constitutional claims. Id. at 582, 105 S.Ct. at 3333. Eight defendants before this Court have already filed constitutional challenges to the Act, the Commission, and the Guidelines; and this Court's experience is representative of that of federal trial courts throughout the nation. These courts are currently in a quandary over what procedures and directives to follow in sentencing persons convicted of crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. The sooner that district courts can resolve the issues, the sooner the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court can definitively resolve the uncertainty regarding the constitutionality of the Guidelines which is pervasive in federal district courts today.

The Court reaches the same conclusion that Judge Brewster did in United States v. Ruiz-Villanueva:

Having examined the facts as they now exist, the court finds that defendants' challenge is ripe for adjudication. The issues before the court—purely legal issues which do not require further factual development—are presently fully fit for judicial decision. In addition, substantial hardships will befall defendants if this court refuses to hear their challenge. Most immediate will be the difficulties which defendants will face in deciding whether to accept plea offers. Without a clear understanding of likely punishments, a defendant simply cannot make an informed decision about a plea offer. Finally, there is nothing to be gained from postponing consideration of defendants' challenge.

680 F.Supp. 1411, 1415 (S.D.Cal.1988). Accordingly, the Court finds that the Motions filed by Perez and Andrus are ripe for consideration. Substantial interests of defendants and the government, as well as the Court, will be best served by the resolution of this pressing question.

II. SENTENCING REFORM ACT AND FORMATION OF THE SENTENCING COMMISSION

Congress established the United States Sentencing Commission ("the Commission") in the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 ("the Act"). See Pub.L. 98-473, Title II, 98 Stat. 1987, 2017. The Commission was created "as an independent commission in the judicial branch of the United States." 28 U.S. C. § 991(a). It is comprised of two nonvoting members and seven voting members. The Attorney General or his designee is an ex officio nonvoting member of the Commission. Id. The Chairman of the United States Parole Commission or his designee is a temporary ex officio nonvoting member of the Commission. Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, Pub. Law 98-473, Title II, 98 Stat. 1987, 2033, § 235(b)(5). The voting members include at least three federal judges selected by the President from a list of six judges recommended by the Judicial Conference of the United States. 28 U.S.C. § 991(a). All members of the Commission are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and may be removed by the President for neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, or other good cause. Id.

Congress dictated that the Commission develop a new structure for sentencing procedures and practices in the federal...