United States v. Almonte-Reyes

United States Court of Appeals
For the First Circuit
No. 13-1934
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Appellee,
v.
HERIBERTO ALMONTE-REYES,
Defendant, Appellant.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
[Hon. Aida M. Delgado-Colón, Chief U.S. District Judge]
Before
Lynch, Circuit Judge,
Souter,* Associate Justice,
and Stahl, Circuit Judge.
Raymond E. Gillespie for appellant.
Tiffany V. Monrose, Assistant United States Attorney, with
whom Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney, and
Nelson Pérez-Sosa, Assistant United States Attorney, Chief,
Appellate Division, were on brief, for appellee.
February 18, 2016
* Hon. David H. Souter, Associate Justice (Ret.) of the
Supreme Court of the United States, sitting by designation.
LYNCH, Circuit Judge. In this case of first impression
in this circuit, we face a question the Supreme Court expressly
left open in Setser v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 1463 (2012):
whether a federal sentence may be ordered to be consecutive to
another federal sentence that is anticipated but not yet imposed.
We conclude that it may not. We reverse and remand for
resentencing.
I.
On October 4, 2012, Heriberto Almonte-Reyes pleaded
guilty in the District of Puerto Rico to conspiracy to import a
hundred grams or more of heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C.
§§ 952(a), 960(a)(1), (b)(2)(A), 963. In the plea agreement, the
parties jointly recommended a sentence between 102 and 120 months
of imprisonment. The parties also recognized that Almonte-Reyes
had pending criminal charges in the Northern District of Georgia,
and they jointly expressed their "intent, desire, and
recommendation that the sentence in this case and the sentence in
[the Northern District of Georgia case] run concurrently."1
1 The indictment in the Northern District of Georgia
charged Almonte-Reyes and seventeen co-conspirators with
conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to distribute
controlled substances. Indictment, United States v. Almonte-
Reyes, No. 09-cr-00025 (N.D. Ga. Jan. 21, 2009), ECF No. 1. The
duration of the conspiracies alleged in the Northern District of
Georgia indictment overlap with the term of the conspiracy alleged
in the District of Puerto Rico indictment. Beyond that, however,
the record does not make clear the exact relationship between the
two cases.
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On July 1, 2013, the district court in Puerto Rico
sentenced Almonte-Reyes to 120 months of imprisonment, "to be
served consecutively to any term to be imposed in a pending case."
(emphasis added). Almonte-Reyes did not object to the consecutive
nature of the sentence at the time of sentencing.
On July 5, 2013, Almonte-Reyes filed a motion for
reconsideration seeking to eliminate the part of the sentence
ordering his term of imprisonment to be consecutive to the
anticipated Northern District of Georgia sentence. He argued that
such a consecutive sentence went beyond the district court's
sentencing authority under 18 U.S.C. § 3584(a). The district court
denied the motion. This appeal followed.
On December 19, 2013, Almonte-Reyes pleaded guilty in
the Northern District of Georgia to one count of conspiracy to
commit money laundering. Guilty Plea and Plea Agreement, United
States v. Almonte-Reyes, No. 09-cr-00025 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 19, 2013),
ECF No. 500. On October 17, 2014, after the filing of the briefs
in this appeal, the Northern District of Georgia sentenced Almonte-
Reyes to 87 months of imprisonment to be served concurrently with
the sentence at issue here. Transcript of Sentencing Hearing,
Almonte-Reyes, No. 09-cr-00025 (N.D. Ga. Oct. 17, 2014), ECF No.
568.
The government had argued in its initial briefing that
the imposition of the later federal sentence would moot the case.
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Doubtful, we ordered the parties to make supplemental filings on
the issue of mootness. In their supplemental filings, Almonte-
Reyes took the position that the appeal was not moot, while the
government maintained that it was.
II.
To start, we reject the government's argument that this
appeal is mooted by the imposition of the sentence in the Northern
District of Georgia.
The government argues that once the Northern District of
Georgia imposed a concurrent sentence, the consecutive nature of
the sentence imposed by the District of Puerto Rico ceased to have
effect. The reason, the government says, is that the decision of
the Northern District of Georgia controls because its sentence
came later in time. For that proposition, the government cites
Odekirk v. Ryan, 85 F.2d 313, 315 (6th Cir. 1936) ("Where . . .
sentences are imposed by different courts, the intention of the
court imposing the second or later sentence is . . .
controlling . . . .").
But, the government argues, that the District of Puerto
Rico's consecutive sentencing decision was superseded by the
Northern District of Georgia's later-in-time sentence does not
mean that the District of Puerto Rico's sentence was legally
impermissible at the time it was imposed. Rather, the government
suggests, we should consider this a situation where developments
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that take place after an initial sentencing require the adjustment
of a sentence. Certain mechanisms are available to prisoners for
adjustment of a sentence, the government says, and Almonte-Reyes
should seek relief through those means rather than challenging the
lawfulness of the initial sentence. Specifically, the government
points to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), which allows a district court
to reduce a prison term "upon motion of the Director of the Bureau
of Prisons . . . if it finds that . . . extraordinary and compelling
reasons warrant such a reduction"; 28 C.F.R. § 542.10, the Bureau
of Prisons' Administrative Remedy Program; or, alternatively,
judicial action under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a writ of habeas corpus.
In essence, the government concedes that Almonte-Reyes should
serve concurrent sentences but urges us to leave the matter for
the Bureau of Prisons or a future district court to resolve.
This case is not mooted by the possibility that Almonte-
Reyes might succeed in adjusting his sentence through the
alternative mechanisms suggested by the government. For one, we
do not know the Bureau of Prisons' position on this issue, so it
is not a foregone conclusion that Almonte-Reyes will be considered
eligible for relief through those alternative mechanisms.2
2 The first two alternative mechanisms proposed by the
government both rely on acquiescence by the Bureau of Prisons.
While a writ of habeas corpus does not rely on such acquiescence
by the Bureau of Prisons, it cannot be that the possibility of
future success on habeas would moot Almonte-Reyes's direct appeal
of his sentence.
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Moreover, Almonte-Reyes argues that the District of Puerto Rico's
sentence was legally impermissible at the time it was imposed, and
that question must be subject to judicial determination in this
direct appeal.
We proceed to determine whether the District of Puerto
Rico acted within its legal authority when it specified Almonte-
Reyes's sentence to be consecutive to an anticipated but not-yet-
imposed federal sentence.3 Our review is de novo as it involves a
question of statutory interpretation.4 United States v. Vidal-
3 There is one more antecedent issue raised in the parties'
briefs, but we can quickly dispense of it. Almonte-Reyes's plea
agreement contained a waiver-of-appeal clause that both parties
agree does not bar this appeal. We agree that because the district
court's imposition of a consecutive sentence ran counter to the
parties' joint recommendation, Almonte-Reyes's claim falls outside
the scope of the waiver of appeal. See United States v. Santiago-
Burgos, 750 F.3d 19, 23–24 (1st Cir. 2014); United States v.
Maldonado-Escarfullery, 689 F.3d 94, 97 n.2 (1st Cir. 2012).
4 Almonte-Reyes concedes that he did not make a
contemporaneous objection to the consecutive nature of his
sentence. Although he claims that he nonetheless preserved the
issue by raising it in a timely motion for reconsideration, circuit
precedent forecloses that claim. See, e.g., Dillon v. Select
Portfolio Servicing, 630 F.3d 75, 80 (1st Cir. 2011); Iverson v.
City of Bos., 452 F.3d 94, 104 (1st Cir. 2006).
While Almonte-Reyes's failure to preserve the objection
would ordinarily result in plain error review, the government has
failed to request application of a plain error standard. We have
often declined to apply a plain error standard when the government
fails to invoke it, and we do the same here. See, e.g., United
States v. Soto-Rivera, No. 14-1216, 2016 WL 279364, at *3 (1st
Cir. Jan. 22, 2016); United States v. Paulino-Guzman, 807 F.3d
447, 450 n.5 (1st Cir. 2015); United States v. Encarnación-Ruiz,
787 F.3d 581, 586 (1st Cir. 2015).
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Reyes, 562 F.3d 43, 48 (1st Cir. 2009). The relevant statute
provides:
If multiple terms of imprisonment are imposed
on a defendant at the same time, or if a term
of imprisonment is imposed on a defendant who
is already subject to an undischarged term of
imprisonment, the terms may run concurrently
or consecutively, except that the terms may
not run consecutively for an attempt and for
another offense that was the sole objective of
the attempt. Multiple terms of imprisonment
imposed at the same time run concurrently
unless the court orders or the statute
mandates that the terms are to run
consecutively. Multiple terms of imprisonment
imposed at different times run consecutively
unless the court orders that the terms are to
run concurrently.
18 U.S.C. § 3584(a).
In Setser, the Supreme Court addressed the question of
whether § 3584(a) allows the imposition of a federal sentence
consecutive to an anticipated state sentence. The Court began by
noting that § 3584(a) is silent on that question:
[Section 3584(a),] which says when concurrent
and consecutive sentences may be imposed, and
specifies which of those dispositions will be
assumed in absence of indication by the
sentencing judge, does not cover the situation
here. It addresses only "multiple terms of
imprisonment . . . imposed . . . at the same
time" and "a term of imprisonment . . . imposed
on a defendant who is already subject to an
undischarged term of imprisonment." Here the
state sentence is not imposed at the same time
as the federal sentence, and the defendant was
not already subject to that state sentence.
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Setser, 132 S. Ct. at 1467 (alterations in original) (citation
omitted) (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 3584(a)). The Court then rejected
the defendant's expressio unius argument that the district court's
power to impose a consecutive sentence was limited to the two
listed situations. Id. at 1469. Rather, the Court noted,
"[s]ection 3584 . . . is framed not as a conferral of authority
but as a limitation of authority that already exists." Id. The
Court found the prior existence of consecutive sentencing
authority in "the common-law background against which the
statutes . . . were enacted," id. at 1468 (alteration in original)
(quoting New Orleans Pub. Serv., Inc. v. Council of City of New
Orleans, 491 U.S. 350, 359 (1989)), under which "[j]udges have
long been understood to have discretion to select whether the
sentences they impose will run concurrently or consecutively with
respect to other sentences that they impose, or that have been
imposed in other proceedings, including state proceedings," id.
The Court therefore concluded that § 3584(a) "le[ft] room for the
exercise of judicial discretion in the situations not covered."
Id. at 1470.
The Supreme Court suggested that the same logic may not
apply when the anticipated sentence is federal, although it did
not ultimately decide the question:
Setser notes that the text of § 3584(a) does
not distinguish between state and federal
sentences. If a district court can enter a
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consecutive sentencing order in advance of an
anticipated state sentence, he asks, what is
to stop it from issuing such an order in
advance of an anticipated federal sentence?
It could be argued that § 3584(a) impliedly
prohibits such an order because it gives that
decision to the federal court that sentences
the defendant when the other sentence is
"already" imposed -- and does not speak (of
course) to what a state court must do when a
sentence has already been imposed. It
suffices to say, however, that this question
is not before us.
Id. at 1471 n.4.
We adopt the distinction suggested in Setser's footnote
four. The Supreme Court's reasoning in Setser began with the
premise that § 3584(a) is silent on whether a federal court can
impose a sentence that is consecutive to an anticipated state
sentence. The statute is not similarly silent when the anticipated
sentence is federal. Section 3584(a) says that when a term of
imprisonment has "already" been imposed, a federal court has the
power to sentence concurrently or consecutively, and the sentence
is presumed to be consecutive unless the court orders otherwise.
By giving such discretion to the later federal sentencing court,
"§ 3584(a) impliedly prohibits" an earlier federal court from
making that decision with respect to a future federal sentence.
Id.
In so concluding, we agree with the two other courts of
appeals that have decided, following Setser, that a district court
does not have the power to impose a sentence consecutive to an
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anticipated but not-yet-determined federal sentence. United
States v. Obey, 790 F.3d 545, 549 (4th Cir. 2015); United States
v. Montes-Ruiz, 745 F.3d 1286, 1290–93 (9th Cir. 2014).
Not only is this conclusion the best reading of the text
of the statute, but it is also consistent with other considerations
noted by the Supreme Court in Setser. First, Setser recognized
the tradition of judicial discretion to determine whether a
sentence runs concurrently or consecutively. 132 S. Ct. at 1468.
While the government's position superficially allows discretion
for the first sentencing court, it eliminates or severely
constrains discretion for the second sentencing court. The later
sentencing court is put under the pressure of either ignoring its
own judgment or contradicting another district court. We think
Congress could not have intended that result. See Montes-Ruiz,
745 F.3d at 1292 (citing United States v. Quintana-Gomez, 521 F.3d
495, 497–98 (5th Cir. 2008)). Moreover, under the government's
position, if the two federal courts disagree (as here), the
question ends up having to be resolved by the Bureau of Prisons,
whose choice of how to implement the sentence will necessarily
fail to accord with one of the federal judges' decisions.
Resolution of the issue by the Bureau of Prisons would run counter
to "our tradition of judicial sentencing, and . . . the
accompanying desideratum that sentencing not be left to employees
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of the same Department of Justice that conducts the prosecution."
Setser, 132 S. Ct. at 1471–72.5
Second, the outcome we reach is consistent with the
principle, recognized by the Setser Court as "undoubtedly true,"
that "when it comes to sentencing, later is always better because
the decisionmaker has more information." Id. at 1471.6
Third, the Court in Setser faced dual sovereignty
concerns not present here because both sentences are federal. Id.
at 1471. While Setser concluded that respect for state sovereignty
supported the exercise of concurrent-vs.-consecutive
decisionmaking authority by an earlier sentencing federal court,
the situation before us implicates no such dual sovereignty
concerns. Id.; see also Quintana-Gomez, 521 F.3d at 497 (pre-
Setser case using dual sovereignty as basis for distinguishing
5 We recognize the Setser dissent's suggestion that it
would not be "constitutionally surprising" for the Bureau of
Prisons to play a part alongside judges in sentencing. Setser,
132 S. Ct. at 1477 (Breyer, J., dissenting) (citing Mistretta v.
United States, 488 U.S. 361, 364 (1989)). However, we are bound
by the majority, which took issue with the idea of leaving the
question to the Bureau of Prisons. Id. at 1471–72 & n.5 (majority
opinion).
6 The dissenting members of the Setser Court would agree
with us on this point. See Setser, 132 S. Ct. at 1476 (Breyer,
J., dissenting) (expressing concern that "the [earlier] sentencing
judge normally does not yet know enough about what will happen in
the sentencing-proceeding-yet-to-come" to fairly decide whether
the sentences should be concurrent or consecutive).
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between federal court's authority to sentence consecutively to
anticipated state and federal sentences).
In sum, we conclude that, under 18 U.S.C. § 3584(a), a
federal sentencing court does not have the authority to determine
that a sentence should be consecutive to a federal sentence that
has not yet been imposed.
III.
We reverse and remand. On remand, the district court is
instructed to strike the portion of the sentence specifying the
term of imprisonment "to be served consecutively to any term to be
imposed in a pending case."
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