United States v. Lehi , 80 F. App'x 638 ( 2003 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
NOV 4 2003
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee, No. 03-4089
v. (D. Utah)
ABE LEHI, (D.C. Nos. 2:02-CV-317-J and
2:92-CR-36-A)
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before SEYMOUR , MURPHY , and O’BRIEN , Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
*
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
Movant-Appellant Abe Lehi, proceeding pro se , filed a motion pursuant to
Fed. R. Crim. P. 36 in federal district court. The district court concluded that
Lehi’s motion raised claims properly brought pursuant to Rule 36, as well as
claims that must be brought in a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion. Accordingly, the
district court treated Lehi’s motion as both a Rule 36 motion and § 2255 motion.
With regard to the correction of clerical errors in the judgment of conviction, the
district court granted Lehi relief in part and denied him relief in part, holding as
follows: (1) the judgment would be corrected to reflect that Lehi was sentenced
on count VI pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4205(a) instead of 18 U.S.C. § 4205(b)(1),
thereby shortening the amount of time Lehi had to serve on this count before
becoming eligible for parole from thirty years to ten years; 1
and (2) the record
was clear that Lehi’s sentence on count VI was to run consecutively to the
sentences imposed on counts III, IV, XII, and XIII. With regard to Lehi’s claims
arising under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, the district court concluded as follows:
Petitioner cites no authority for his constitutional claims, and
the court finds nothing in his moving papers or the applicable body
of law to support the conclusion that the sentence imposed upon Mr.
Lehi for the offenses to which he entered a plea of guilty—crimes
involving multiple acts of sexual abuse of minor children—is so
oppressive and disproportionate in relation to his admitted criminal
conduct as to constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Nor does he
The United States has not appealed the district court’s decision to correct
1
the judgment to indicate that Lehi’s sentence on count VI was pursuant to
18 U.S.C. § 4205(a).
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make any colorable showing of a denial of due process or of equal
protection, whether based upon his indigence, or otherwise.
On appeal, Lehi does not reassert the arguments that his sentences violate
the Fifth and Eighth Amendments. 2
Instead, he argues that the district court erred
in refusing to fully correct the judgment pursuant to Rule 36. This court exercises
jurisdiction over Lehi’s appeal of the district court’s partial denial of Rule 36
relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. 3
As the transcript quoted by the district court
makes clear, the sentencing court clearly intended that the sentence imposed on
count VI was to run consecutively to the sentences imposed on all other counts.
Lehi is simply incorrect in asserting that 18 U.S.C. § 4205 is in any way
relevant to his sentences on counts III, IV, XII, and XIII. Those convictions were
for conduct which occurred after the Sentencing Guidelines came into effect. The
Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 repealed § 4205, replacing the pre-Guidelines
parole-based system “in favor of more uniformly determined, definite release
dates combined with supervised release.” Verner v. United States Parole
Comm’n , 150 F.3d 1172, 1175 n.5 (10th Cir. 1998). Accordingly, to the extent
Lehi is arguing that the district court should have corrected the judgment to
reflect that he is eligible for parole after having served some portion of his
Accordingly, Lehi’s request for a certificate of appealability is hereby
2
denied as moot.
3
This court grants Lehi’s motion to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis.
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concurrent sentences on post-Guidelines counts III, IV, XII, and XIII, he is
incorrect as a matter of law.
For those reasons set out above, this court affirms the district court’s
partial denial of Lehi’s Rule 36 motion for substantially those reasons set forth by
the district court.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
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