United States v. Parkinson ( 1993 )


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  • USCA1 Opinion




    March 30, 1993 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
    ___________________

    No. 91-2233




    UNITED STATES,

    Appellee,

    v.

    KEITH JAMES PARKINSON,

    Defendant, Appellant.


    __________________

    APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

    FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE

    [Hon. D. Brock Hornby, U.S. District Judge]
    ___________________

    ___________________

    Before

    Breyer, Chief Judge,
    ___________
    Campbell, Senior Circuit Judge,
    ____________________
    and Cyr, Circuit Judge.
    _____________

    ___________________

    Christopher W. Dilworth and Dilworth, White & Brandt on
    ________________________ __________________________
    brief for appellant.
    Richard S. Cohen, United States Attorney, and F. Mark
    _________________ ________
    Terison, Assistant United States Attorney, on brief for appellee.
    _______

    __________________

    __________________



    Opinion on Rehearing






















    Per Curiam. Keith Parkinson appeals from his conviction
    __________

    on a single count of bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C.

    2113(a). He raises four issues, two involving evidentiary

    rulings at trial and two pertaining to his sentence. We

    affirm the conviction but remand for resentencing.1

    I. Background
    __________

    Shortly before noon on February 15, 1990, a man robbed

    the Casco Northern Bank's West End branch in Portland, Maine.

    He handed the teller a note, written on the back of a bank

    form, which read, "Put all your hundreds and fifties on the

    counter now." The teller complied, and the man escaped with

    $1300. At trial, the teller, Sara Plourd, identified

    defendant as the individual in question. So did Amy Bolduc,

    another teller who had been seated adjacent to Plourd at the

    time of the robbery. (Both had separately identified

    defendant earlier in a photographic line-up prepared by the

    FBI.) Defendant was also identified by Roger Sabin, an

    employee of a restaurant located near the bank, as the

    individual who arrived shortly after 11:00 on the morning of

    the robbery, drank two beers while looking out the window in

    the bank's direction, and then departed. Finally, an FBI

    expert document examiner, who had compared the robbery note



    ____________________

    1. On December 4, 1992, we issued an opinion in this case
    affirming both the conviction and the sentence. In response
    to defendant's petition for rehearing, we have vacated that
    earlier opinion and issued the instant one in its stead.

    -2-















    with handwriting exemplars obtained from defendant, testified

    that the note and the exemplars had been written by the same

    person. Following the one-day trial, defendant was convicted

    and sentenced to twenty years in prison.

    II. Authentication of Robbery Note
    ______________________________

    We first address defendant's argument that the

    government presented an inadequate foundation for admission

    of the robbery note. At trial, Sara Plourd was asked if she

    recognized the note and responded: "Yes, that's the note that

    the man gave me." And following the note's admission into

    evidence, the FBI document examiner identified it (by means

    of his initials which he had written on the back) as the one

    that had been sent to him for examination; as mentioned, he

    also identified the writing as that of defendant. As he did

    below, defendant now argues that the court erred in admitting

    the note because the government failed to prove an

    uninterrupted chain of custody. We review the district

    court's ruling for abuse of discretion, see, e.g., United
    ___ ____ ______

    States v. Collado, 957 F.2d 38, 39 (1st Cir. 1992).
    ______ _______

    Defendant's claim falters for the reasons expressed in

    United States v. Abreu, 952 F.2d 1458, 1467 (1st Cir.), cert.
    _____________ _____ _____

    denied, 112 S. Ct. 1695 (1992). Where "the offered evidence
    ______

    is of the type that is not readily identifiable or is

    susceptible of alteration, a testimonial tracing of the chain

    of custody is necessary." Id. The purpose thereof "is to
    ___



    -3-















    render it improbable that the original item has been

    exchanged with another or has been tampered with or

    contaminated." Id. Yet no testimony as to chain of custody
    ___

    is necessary where the evidence "is readily identifiable by a

    unique feature or other identifying mark." Id.; accord,
    ___ ______

    e.g., United States v. Hernandez-Herrera, 952 F.2d 342, 344
    ____ ______________ _________________

    (10th Cir. 1991) (where "documents are uniquely identifiable

    and relatively resistant to change, the establishment of a

    chain of custody is not necessary"); see also Fed. R. Evid.
    ________

    901(b)(1) & (4). It is not disputed that the robbery note

    here fell within this latter category. See, e.g., M. Graham,
    ___ ____

    Federal Practice & Procedure: Evidence 6822, at 854 n.6
    ________________________________________

    (interim ed. 1992) (citing to case involving holdup note as

    one involving "unique and readily identifiable" evidence in

    this respect). Authentication was properly accomplished,

    therefore, through Plourd's identification, without the need

    for chain-of-custody testimony.

    III. Evidence of Other Crimes
    ________________________

    Defendant's next challenge involves evidence that was

    never introduced at trial. The day after the Maine robbery,

    defendant committed a similar bank robbery in Boston;2 by

    the time of the Maine trial, he had pled guilty to this


    ____________________

    2. From the government's brief offer of proof, it appears
    that this robbery occurred at approximately noon, when a note
    written on the back of a bank form, and containing the words
    "Put your hundreds, fifties on counter," was handed to a
    teller.

    -4-















    offense and been sentenced therefor in Massachusetts state

    court. Defendant's criminal history involved a series of

    other offenses, including convictions in 1977 for kidnapping,

    robbery and rape, and earlier convictions for, inter alia,
    __________

    aggravated assault, larceny, and escape. The government

    planned to introduce evidence of the Boston robbery under

    Fed. R. Evid. 404(b) in order to establish defendant's

    identity; it also indicated that, should the defendant

    testify, it planned to introduce evidence of all his earlier

    convictions under Fed. R. Evid. 609 in order to attack his

    credibility. Defendant filed a motion in limine seeking to
    _________

    exclude all such evidence of his past convictions. During a

    break in the trial, the court addressed these matters and

    issued a three-part ruling. It held that evidence of the

    Boston robbery was admissible under Rule 404(b), given the

    similarity of the two robberies and the fact that identity

    was the major issue at trial.3 As to the admissibility,


    ____________________


    3. The government planned to introduce proof of this robbery
    through the testimony of the arresting Boston Police officer.
    No voir dire was held (or requested); instead, the government
    _________
    described the officer's anticipated testimony through an
    offer of proof. The court's ruling was therefore necessarily
    conditional. It held in part: "I believe that the government
    has satisfied Rule 404(b), that [given] the circumstances as
    described, if that is the gist of the witness's testimony,
    _________________________________________________
    that the jury could indeed conclude that it confirmed the
    identity of the defendant, if the jargon of signature crime
    is used." Tr. at 103-04 (emphasis added). The court went on
    to find, under Rule 403, that the probative value of such
    evidence was not substantially outweighed by the danger of
    unfair prejudice. Id. See Advisory Committee Note to Rule
    ___ ___

    -5-















    under Rule 609, of defendant's convictions in 1977, the court

    reserved judgment pending defendant's testimony. And it held

    defendant's other convictions to be inadmissible under Rule

    609.

    As it turned out, none of this evidence was introduced

    and defendant did not testify. In response to an inquiry

    from the court, defense counsel indicated that the primary

    reason for defendant to testify would be to rebut or

    otherwise explain the Boston robbery; if that evidence were

    not to be introduced, there would be a "minimal" likelihood

    of the defendant testifying.4 The court then encouraged the

    government to consider whether to introduce the Boston

    robbery evidence, and suggested that both sides confer.

    During a recess, the government and defense counsel agreed

    that if the evidence of that robbery were not introduced, the


    ____________________

    404(b) (explaining requisite balancing test by reference to
    Rule 403 factors).

    4. The exchange between the court and defense counsel was as
    follows:
    THE COURT: [A]m I correct in believing
    that the only witness for the defendant would be
    the defendant himself?
    MR. DILWORTH: Probably, yes.
    THE COURT: Now as I understand it also,
    your decision to put the defendant on is because of
    the 404(b) testimony, if that were not coming in,
    you would not be putting him on?
    MR. DILWORTH: Well, it's his decision.
    THE COURT: I understand.
    MR. DILWORTH: I would say the chances of him
    testifying are much, much less. I'd say minimal,
    if the 404 evidence wasn't coming in.
    Tr. at 125.

    -6-















    defendant would not testify. Defense counsel and defendant

    both affirmatively acknowledged to the court that they

    approved of this arrangement.5 The government then rested,

    as did the defense without putting on any witnesses.

    Defendant now seeks to challenge the denial of his

    motion in limine to exclude the evidence of the Boston
    __________

    robbery. We agree with the government that, based on a line

    of cases commencing with Luce v. United States, 469 U.S. 38
    ____ _____________

    (1984), defendant has failed to preserve this issue for

    appeal.

    The defendant in Luce filed an in limine motion to
    ____ _________

    preclude the government (in the event he testified) from

    relying on an earlier conviction to impeach him under Fed. R.

    Evid. 609(a). The motion was denied, yet defendant chose not

    to testify and the impeachment evidence was never introduced.

    The Court held that "to raise and preserve for review the

    claim of improper impeachment with a prior conviction, a

    defendant must testify." Id. at 43. It cited various
    ___

    reasons for this decision. First, without the precise

    factual context that such testimony would have provided, an

    appellate court is handicapped in reviewing the balance drawn

    between probative value and prejudice. Id. at 41. Second,
    ___


    ____________________

    5. Defense counsel stated: "I've discussed this with my
    client, Your Honor, and he's decided that he's not going to
    testify on the condition that the government agrees not to
    introduce the Rule 404(b) evidence." Tr. at 127. Defendant,
    in response to the court's inquiry, confirmed this.

    -7-















    for much the same reason, the trial court's in limine ruling
    _________

    is necessarily tentative and "subject to change when the case

    unfolds"; any possible harm stemming therefrom is thus

    "wholly speculative." Id. at 41. Third, there is no way of
    ___

    knowing whether the government ultimately would have elected

    to use the impeachment evidence. Id. at 42. Fourth, a
    ___

    reviewing court cannot tell to what degree, if at all, the in
    __

    limine ruling contributed to a defendant's decision to remain
    ______

    silent. Id. And finally, given the difficulty of reviewing
    ___

    for harmless error in the absence of a concrete factual

    setting, requiring a defendant to testify in order to

    preserve his objections makes it more difficult to "'plant'

    reversible error" in the record. Id.
    ___

    We have joined other courts in extending this reasoning

    beyond the confines of Rule 609. In United States v.
    _____________

    Griffin, 818 F.2d 97 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 844
    _______ ____________

    (1987), for example, we applied Luce to the Rule 403 context.
    ____

    There, the prosecutor proposed to explain a government

    witness' delay in coming forward by offering evidence of a

    third-party threat against him. The court sustained the

    defendant's objection to such evidence under Rule 403, but

    warned that, if defense counsel cross-examined the witness

    concerning such delay, the prosecution could use such

    evidence in rebuttal. No such cross-examination occurred,

    and the "threat" evidence was thus never introduced. Noting



    -8-















    that Rule 403 "necessitates much the same genre of

    comparative analysis" as Rule 609, id. at 104, and finding
    ___

    each of the Luce concerns applicable, we held that
    ____

    defendant's challenge to such ruling never ripened into an

    appealable issue. Id. at 103-06. See also United States v.
    ___ ________ _____________

    Nivica, 887 F.2d 1110, 1115-17 (1st Cir. 1989) (defendant
    ______

    sought advance ruling that, if he took the stand, cross-

    examination would be limited to the scope of direct and to

    questions bearing on credibility; motion was denied, but

    defendant never testified or asked for voir dire; held that
    _________

    ruling was not appealable), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1005
    _____________

    (1990). And other courts have applied Luce to Rule 404(b)
    ____

    situations similar to that involved here. See, e.g., United
    ___ ____ ______

    States v. Ortiz, 857 F.2d 900, 904-06 (2d Cir. 1988) (trial
    ______ _____

    court held that prior conviction could be introduced under

    Rule 404(b) only if defendant argued issue of personal drug

    use; defendant refrained from arguing such issue, so

    conviction was never introduced; held that ruling was not

    appealable), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1070 (1989); United
    ____________ ______

    States v. Johnson, 767 F.2d 1259, 1269-70 (8th Cir. 1985)
    ______ _______

    (trial court ruled that government would be permitted to

    introduce past convictions under Rule 404(b) as rebuttal









    -9-















    evidence if defendants testified; defendants never took the

    stand; held that ruling was not appealable).6

    These cases are admittedly distinguishable from the

    instant case in one respect. In each of them, the evidence

    in question was held to be conditionally admissible. The

    trial court in each instance ruled that it could only be

    introduced if a subsequent event occurred (i.e., if the
    __

    defendant in Luce or Nivica or Johnson testified; if the
    ____ ______ _______

    defendant in Griffin challenged the witness' credibility; if
    _______

    the defendant in Johnson raised the personal-use issue). And
    _______

    in each instance, the merits of the evidentiary ruling
    ______

    necessarily depended (to a greater or lesser extent) upon

    further factual development. As we stated in Nivica: "None
    ______

    of these requests [in Luce, Griffin and Nivica] were capable
    ____ _______ ______

    of meaningful resolution in a vacuum. Ultimately, the

    trier's decision, whatever his initial inclination, had to

    depend upon ... development of a specific record ...." 887

    F.2d at 1117. In the instant case, by contrast, there is no

    such connection between the court's Rule 404(b) ruling and

    the defendant's prospective testimony. The evidence of the

    Boston robbery was not rebuttal or impeachment evidence; the

    government was permitted to introduce it in its case-in-chief


    ____________________

    6. The Johnson court explained: "Although Luce was decided
    _______ ____
    under Fed. R. Evid. 609(a)(1), its logic applies with equal
    force to motions under Rule 404." 767 F.2d at 1270. We
    quoted this comment with apparent approval in Griffin, 818
    _______
    F.2d at 105.

    -10-















    to establish identity.7 Accordingly, the Rule 404(b)

    determination here could have been definitively made (in a

    concrete factual setting allowing for appellate review)

    during the government's case-in-chief.

    For this reason, the first Luce concern--the difficulty
    ____

    of balancing probative and prejudicial effects in an

    evidentiary vacuum--could have been avoided here. Yet that

    factor is in fact implicated, due to circumstances not

    involved in the above cases. While the Rule 404(b) issue

    could have been definitively resolved here and an adequate
    _____

    record developed, such did not occur. The government's offer

    of proof only outlined the anticipated testimony from the

    Boston officer in generalized fashion, providing few details

    concerning the second robbery.8 Defendant never requested a

    voir dire. See Griffin, 818 F.2d at 105 ("counsel may
    __________ ___ _______


    ____________________

    7. The fact that defendant's decision not to testify
    resulted in that evidence not being introduced was nothing
    more than happenstance, stemming solely from the parties'
    last-minute agreement.

    8. The Court in Luce held that an offer of proof was not an
    ____
    acceptable substitute for actual testimony, since a
    defendant's "trial testimony could, for any number of
    reasons, differ from the proffer." 469 U.S. at 41 n.5.
    Given the limited and specific nature of the testimony
    expected from the Boston officer, one might argue that this
    concern is of less weight here. Cf. Ortiz, 857 F.2d at 906-
    ___ _____
    07 (Pierce, J., concurring) (rejecting applicability of Luce
    __________ ____
    because, unlike the anticipated testimony there, "the
    district court could, prospectively, have reviewed what the
    _____
    defense counsel's arguments would have been, and could have
    held the defense counsel to those proffers of argument.").
    We need not decide this issue, since the proffer here lacks
    sufficient details to permit meaningful review in any event.

    -11-















    request that ... the actual testimony be screened voir dire
    _________

    in the jury's absence" in order to supply the necessary

    context). The court was thus compelled to make its ruling

    contingent on the Boston's officer's testimony turning out to

    be as described. On this record, any effort by this court to

    review the district court's balancing of probative value

    versus prejudicial effect would be difficult if not

    impossible.

    Each of the remaining Luce factors, moreover, is
    ____

    directly implicated. The district court might have altered

    its ruling upon hearing the Boston officer's testimony. The

    government might have elected independently to forgo such

    evidence, given the strength of its case. Other

    considerations, such as the prospect of the Rule 609 evidence

    being admitted, might have contributed to defendant's

    decision not to testify. And the sparse factual record would

    have hampered any review by this court for harmless error.

    Accordingly, we conclude that defendant's challenge to the

    Rule 404(b) ruling never ripened into an appealable issue.

    Cf. Freeman v. Package Machinery Corp., 865 F.2d 1331, 1337
    ___ _______ _______________________

    (1st Cir. 1987) (warning that litigants must exercise caution

    in relying on in limine rulings as the basis for preserving
    __________

    evidentiary objections).

    IV. Sentencing
    __________





    -12-















    Relying on 4B1.1 of the sentencing guidelines, the

    district court classified defendant as a career offender.

    This yielded a criminal history category of VI, an offense

    level of 32, and (in light of the statutory maximum) a

    sentencing range of 210-240 months. The court imposed the

    maximum of 240 months, and ordered that it run consecutively

    to the ten-to-twenty year sentence imposed earlier in state

    court for the Massachusetts bank robbery.9 Defendant now

    argues, as he did briefly below, that under the guidelines

    the federal sentence must run at least partly in concurrence

    with his state sentence.10 In a related argument, he

    contends that the court employed an erroneous offense level

    in calculating that a consecutive sentence was warranted. As

    we find this latter contention persuasive, we need not

    address the former.

    Section 5G1.3 addresses the sentencing of a defendant

    subject to an undischarged term of imprisonment.11 Three


    ____________________

    9. The state sentencing occurred in April 1990.

    10. His principal argument below was that the federal
    sentence should have been completely concurrent with his
    __________
    state sentence. He has abandoned this contention on appeal.

    11. An amended version of this section took effect on
    November 1, 1991--thirteen days prior to defendant's
    sentencing. As he did below, defendant in his brief relies
    on the earlier version, without mentioning such revision.
    Yet, the amended version of 5G1.3 does not adversely affect
    defendant's sentencing; indeed, it lends some strength to the
    arguments he advances here. As such, no ex post facto
    _______________
    concerns arise, and the amended version governs. See, e.g.,
    ___ ____
    United States v. Aymelek, 926 F.2d 64, 66 n.1 (1st Cir. 1991)
    _____________ _______

    -13-















    separate categories of situations are set forth, each with

    different sentencing ramifications. Subsection (a) requires

    imposition of a consecutive sentence where, inter alia, a
    ___________

    defendant commits an offense while serving (or after

    sentencing for, but before commencing service of) a term of

    imprisonment. This provision is inapplicable here.

    Subsection (b) applies where, inter alia, the undischarged
    __________

    prison term resulted from "offense(s) that constituted part

    of the same course of conduct as the instant offense and have

    been fully taken into account in the determination of the

    offense level for the instant offense." In such a case, the

    sentence should produce a combined sentence equal to the

    total punishment that would have been imposed under 5G1.2

    had all sentences been imposed at the same time, with an

    adjustment for time already served. This provision likewise

    appears inapplicable. While the Boston robbery was included

    in defendant's criminal history, it did not in fact

    contribute to his offense level: defendant would have been

    classified as a career offender even without reference

    thereto.





    ____________________

    ("Barring ex post facto concerns, the guidelines in effect at
    _____________
    the time of sentencing, not those in effect when the crime
    was committed, control at sentencing."); United States v.
    _____________
    Cousens, 942 F.2d 800, 801 n.1 (1st Cir. 1991). (We also
    _______
    note that 5G1.3 was again amended effective November 1,
    1992--after defendant's sentencing.)

    -14-















    The remaining provision provides: "In any other case,

    the sentence for the instant offense shall be imposed to run

    consecutively to the prior unexpired term of imprisonment to

    the extent necessary to achieve a reasonable incremental

    punishment for the instant offense." Id. 5G1.3(c). The
    ___

    commentary elaborates as follows:

    To the extent practicable, the court shall impose a
    sentence for the instant offense that results in a
    combined sentence that approximates the total
    punishment that would have been imposed under
    5G1.2 (Sentencing on Multiple Counts of Conviction)
    had all of the offenses been federal offenses for
    which sentences were being imposed at the same
    time.

    Id. comment. (n.4). Section 5G1.2(b), in turn, provides that
    ___

    "the sentence imposed ... shall be the total punishment as

    determined in accordance with Part D of Chapter Three ...."

    And 5G1.2(d) provides that consecutive sentences are

    permissible "only to the extent necessary to produce a

    combined sentence equal to the total punishment."12

    The district court determined that, had both robberies

    been considered together for purposes of sentencing,



    ____________________

    12. Section 5G1.2(d) reads in full as follows:

    If the sentence imposed on the count carrying the
    highest statutory maximum is less than the total
    punishment, then the sentence imposed on one or
    more of the other counts shall run consecutively,
    but only to the extent necessary to produce a
    combined sentence equal to the total punishment.
    In all other respects sentences on all counts shall
    run concurrently, except to the extent otherwise
    required by law.

    -15-















    defendant would have faced a "total punishment" of 262 to 327

    months. It reached this conclusion in part by calculating

    that, under 3D1.4 (which provides for the determination of

    a combined offense level for multiple counts), the two

    robberies would have led to a two-level increase in

    defendant's offense level. The court applied this increase

    to the career offender level of 32 derived from 4B1.1,

    resulting in an offense level of 34. (A level of 34 and a

    criminal history category of VI yields the indicated

    sentencing range.) Defendant now argues that it was

    inappropriate to apply the two-level increase from 3D1.4(a)

    to the career offender level derived from 4B1.1.

    Defendant is correct in this regard, as the government

    effectively concedes. Section 4B1.1 specifically provides:

    "If the offense level for a career criminal from the table

    below is greater than the offense level otherwise applicable,

    the offense level from the table below shall apply." This

    directive makes clear that "the career offender guideline

    supersede[s] the 'otherwise applicable offense level.'"

    United States v. Elwell, No. 91-1621, slip op. at 18 (1st
    _____________ ______

    Cir. Jan. 20, 1993). The "Application Instructions" in

    1B1.1 confirm the point. As we explained in United States v.
    _____________

    Alves, 873 F.2d 495 (1st Cir. 1989), the first step under
    _____

    that section's sequential format is to use the actual statute

    of conviction to determine the offense level, 1B1.1(a)-(b),



    -16-















    and then to apply any adjustments deriving from Chapter

    Three, 1B1.1(c)-(e).

    After this is done, the court looks to see if
    provisions in Chapter 4, Part B apply, such as
    career offender provisions, which may set another
    offense level. 1B1.1(f).... The guidelines do
    _________________
    not then apply the adjustments noted in
    ___________________________________________________
    1B1.1(c)-(e) to the level found for a career
    ___________________________________________________
    offender.... If the application instructions are
    ________
    followed in the order written, as they presumably
    should be, a career criminal is never allowed [the
    reductions specified in Chapter Three].

    873 F.2d at 497 (emphasis added).

    For this reason, we have on several occasions noted that

    the applicability of 4B1.1 obviated any need to examine

    potential offense-level adjustments deriving from Chapter

    Three. See, e.g., Elwell, supra, slip op. at 18 (role in
    ___ ____ ______ _____

    offense under 3B1); United States v. Morales-Diaz, 925 F.2d
    _____________ ____________

    535, 540 (1st Cir. 1991) (same); United States v. Ruiz-
    ______________ _____

    Garcia, 886 F.2d 474, 476 (1st Cir. 1989) (obstruction of
    ______

    justice under 3C1); Alves, 873 F.2d at 497 (acceptance of
    _____

    responsibility under 3E1).13 The same conclusion

    necessarily applies to adjustments under 3D1 for multiple

    counts. See, e.g., United States v. Streit, 962 F.2d 894,
    ___ ____ ______________ ______

    901 (9th Cir.) (describing sentence), cert. denied, 113 S.
    ____________

    Ct. 431 (1992); United States v. Poff, 723 F. Supp. 79, 80-81
    _____________ ____

    (N.D. Ind. 1989), aff'd on other grounds en banc, 926 F.2d
    ________________________________


    ____________________

    13. Subsequent to our Alves decision, 4B1.1 was amended to
    _____
    permit a reduction in the offense level of a career offender
    for acceptance of responsibility. No other such adjustments
    deriving from Chapter Three have been authorized.

    -17-















    588 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 112 S. Ct. 96 (1991).14 It
    ____________

    is apparent, therefore, that the district court erred by

    adding the two-level increase derived from 3D1.4 to the

    career offender level derived from 4B1.1.15

    The government, while not contesting this conclusion,

    argues that a remand for resentencing is unnecessary. It

    reasons as follows. (1) Without the two-level increase,

    defendant's offense level would be 32. With a criminal

    history category of VI, he thus would have faced a "total

    punishment" of 210-262 months had both robberies been

    considered together. (2) As the two sentences now stand,

    defendant could end up serving a combined total of as few as

    284 months.16 (3) While 284 exceeds 262 (the high end of


    ____________________

    14. The fact that 5G1.2(b) specifically refers back to
    "the total punishment as determined in accordance with Part D
    of Chapter Three" does not change this result. That
    reference necessarily encompasses any additional adjustment
    from 4B1 as well. The final provision in Part D of Chapter
    Three makes this clear. Section 3D1.5, entitled "Determining
    the Total Punishment," reads: "Use the combined offense level
    to determine the appropriate sentence in accordance with the
    provisions of Chapter Five." And the accompanying Commentary
    adds: "The combined offense level is subject to adjustments
    from ... Chapter Four, Part B ...."

    15. The court's oversight was understandable, as the
    miscalculation was contained in the presentence report and
    was embraced below by both the defendant and the government.
    Indeed, it was advanced by both parties on appeal and was
    adopted by this court in the original decision; not until
    defendant filed his petition for rehearing was the error
    mentioned.

    16. The government calculates as follows. Defendant
    received a ten-to-twenty year sentence in state court. Under
    Mass. G.L. c. 127, 129, the Commonwealth deducts twelve and

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    the applicable sentencing range had both robberies been

    considered together), it is close enough to satisfy the

    guidelines. For as noted above, the guidelines only call for

    a sentence that "approximates" the total punishment that

    would have been imposed, "to the extent practicable."

    We need not address the validity of these specific

    contentions, as we conclude that a remand for resentencing is

    appropriate in any event. In the original opinion we noted

    that (again due largely to the parties' oversight) the

    district court failed to employ the methodology set forth in

    the applicable version of 5G1.3 in deciding to impose a

    consecutive sentence. We think that this additional

    shortcoming, when combined with the erroneous offense-level

    calculation, suffices under the circumstances to warrant a

    remand. We intimate no view as to the appropriateness of (1)

    any specific sentence to be imposed upon resentencing or (2)

    any upward or downward departure that either party might

    request.




    ____________________

    one-half days from the sentence for each month of good
    conduct, meaning that with such credits defendant would serve
    at most eleven years and nine months. More important, under
    G.L. c. 127, 133, defendant would be eligible for parole
    after serving two-thirds of his minimum sentence--i.e., after
    80 months. As to the federal sentence, under 18 U.S.C.
    3624(b), defendant would receive a 54-day credit for each
    year of "satisfactory behavior," meaning he could end up
    serving 204 months out of the 240 imposed. For both
    sentences in conjunction, therefore, he could end up serving
    as few as 284 months.

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    The conviction is affirmed, the sentence is vacated, and
    ________________________________________________________

    the case is remanded for resentencing.
    ______________________________________

















































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