F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
JUN 19 2001
PUBLISH
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
TENTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v. No. 00-2286
RODNEY WAYNE SWANSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of New Mexico
(D.C. No. CR-99-525-LH)
Submitted on the Briefs:
Benjamin A. Gonzales, Assistant Federal Public Defender, and Scott M.
Davidson, Research and Writing Specialist, Albuquerque, New Mexico, for
Defendant-Appellant.
Norman C. Bay, United States Attorney, and Laura Fashing, Assistant United
States Attorney, Albuquerque, New Mexico, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Before SEYMOUR, ANDERSON and KELLY, Circuit Judges.
SEYMOUR, Circuit Judge.
Rodney Wayne Swanson pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture
methamphetamine. He appeals from the district court’s enhancement of his
sentence for obstruction of justice and its refusal to grant him a downward
adjustment for acceptance of responsibility. We affirm.
I.
Mr. Swanson was arrested in New Mexico in April 1999 for conspiracy to
manufacture methamphetamine. He pled guilty in September and agreed to
cooperate with the government thereafter. Because his sentencing was not
scheduled until December, the district court granted his motion to be released to a
halfway house pending the sentencing date. Two days into his residence, Mr.
Swanson signed out for work and never returned. He remained at large past the
December sentencing date and eventually was apprehended by Missouri police in
an apartment containing drug manufacturing equipment. Mr. Swanson signed a
statement claiming responsibility for the manufacturing paraphernalia, although
he now contends he made that statement only to protect his girlfriend from
criminal charges.
After Mr. Swanson returned to New Mexico, the district court sentenced
him to ninety-seven months in prison. In calculating that sentence, the court
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added a two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice on the basis of his flight
and denied any sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility. Mr. Swanson
challenges these two determinations on appeal. He admits he absconded from the
halfway house, but he argues his flight was motivated not by any intent to
obstruct justice but by a need to protect loved ones from danger. He further
contends residence in a halfway house is not “custody” for purpose of the
sentencing guidelines, and he argues an adjustment for acceptance of
responsibility was warranted.
II.
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
A. Motivation to Flee
Section 3C1.1 of the sentencing guidelines provides a two-level
enhancement for obstruction of justice if a defendant is found to have “willfully
obstructed or impeded . . . the administration of justice,” during trial or
sentencing. Mr. Swanson argues his flight was not a willful obstruction of justice
because he did not intend to interfere with sentencing. In his objections to the
pre-sentence report, he alleged that other prison inmates had threatened his own
life and that of his girlfriend and her children in retaliation for aid he had
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allegedly given police after his arrest. He explained that he left New Mexico in
order to remove his girlfriend and her children from danger and that he planned to
turn himself in once they were safe.
The district court considered these explanations but determined that Mr.
Swanson’s flight, his failure to communicate with his attorney, and the need for
an arrest to secure his appearance in court led to the conclusion that he did not
intend to return to New Mexico and serve his sentence. The court held this
conduct constituted obstruction of justice. We review the district court’s findings
of fact for clear error and its interpretation and application of the sentencing
guidelines de novo. United States v. Archuletta, 231 F.3d 682, 684 (10th Cir.
2000).
Mr. Swanson first contends the purpose of the obstruction of justice
enhancement is to promote judicial “truth seeking,” a function he says was
unaffected by his actions in this case. In support of this argument he refers to a
list of examples of obstruction of justice given in Note 4 of section 3C1.1. He
notes those examples include perjury, witness tampering, and procuring false
documents – all acts that interfere with judicial truth seeking. His reading of
Note 4 is strangely selective, however, because the same list of examples includes
“escaping or attempting to escape from custody before trial or sentencing,” as
well as “willfully failing to appear, as ordered, for a judicial proceeding.” Even
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accepting, arguendo, Mr. Swanson’s contention that the only focus of the
obstruction inquiry is “truth finding,” it is clear that a court’s attempt to conduct
truth-finding proceedings is impeded when one party cannot be found.
Mr. Swanson’s next argument is, in essence, that his flight was justified by
his concern for the safety of his girlfriend and her children. He points out the
district court made no specific findings with regard to the explanations set out in
his objections to the pre-sentence report. While the court considered Mr.
Swanson’s flight and determined that he did not intend to return to custody, it is
not clear to what extent the court considered and rejected his proffered
explanation. Mr. Swanson’s motivations are beside the point, however—the only
significant question is whether he willfully fled custody. See United States v.
Amos, 984 F.2d 1067, 1072 (10th Cir. 1993) (“[E]scape or attempting escape from
custody before trial or sentencing is an example of conduct that warrants the
adjustment. Nothing more is required.”); see also Archuletta, 231 F.3d at 686
(applying enhancement to defendant who fled because believed she was dying);
United States v. Aponte, 31 F.3d 86, 88 (2nd Cir. 1994) (“It is sufficient . . . that
the defendant intended to fail to appear at a judicial proceeding, regardless of his
reason for desiring to flee.”) (emphasis added). Even if Mr. Swanson truly feared
for his girlfriend’s safety, there were legitimate options for her protection by law
enforcement, friends, or family. Instead of calling upon those options, Mr.
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Swanson chose to escape custody. He must now accept the consequences of that
choice.
B. Definition of “Custody”
As discussed above, the district court increased Mr. Swanson’s sentence
under the obstruction of justice enhancement, which applies to “escaping or
attempting to escape from custody before trial or sentencing.” U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1,
Note 4(e). Mr. Swanson attempts to avoid application of the guideline by arguing
residence in a halfway house does not constitute “custody.” 1 To support this
argument, he cites United States v. Baxley, 982 F.2d 1265, 1270 (9th Cir. 1992),
which held that a defendant who fled from a treatment center was not guilty of
felony escape from custody because the treatment center was not “custody” for
purposes of the relevant statute.
As explained in Baxley, however, “the term ‘custody’ may vary in meaning
when used in different contexts.” Id. at 1269 (citation omitted). Calculations
under the sentencing guidelines regularly consider conduct not charged as a
1
Note 4 also alludes to “willfully failing to appear, as ordered, for a
judicial proceeding.” Thus, even without an escape from custody, Mr. Swanson’s
failure to appear for his December sentencing date may independently support the
enhancement. In view of our holding that a halfway house constitutes “custody”
for purposes of the obstruction enhancement, we need not consider this alternate
ground.
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crime, so the definition of “custody” under a guidelines analysis may be broader
than the definition of “custody” needed to support the substantive charge of
felony escape. Life at a halfway house undoubtedly entails fewer restrictions than
life in prison, but one who lives there under court order is not free to come and go
at will. In that respect, residence at a halfway house is a form of “custody.” See,
e.g., United States v. Banta, 127 F.3d 982, 983 (10th Cir. 1997) (defendant
sentenced to “imprisonment in a halfway house”); United States v. Elliott, 971
F.2d 620, 621 (10th Cir. 1992) (court ordered “incarceration” in halfway house).
Implicitly recognizing that “custody” under the guidelines is broader than
under the context considered in Baxley, the Ninth Circuit has held that
“[a]bsconding from pretrial release merits an upward adjustment” for obstruction
of justice. United States v. Draper, 996 F.2d 982, 986 (9th Cir. 1993). Mr.
Swanson attempts to characterize a halfway house as analogous to parole or
release on bail rather than to incarceration, but other circuits have held that
failure to report by one released on bond is “comparable to an escape from
custody” as well. United States v. Defeo, 36 F.3d 272, 276 (2d Cir. 1994); see
also United States v. Perry, 908 F.2d 56, 59 (6th Cir. 1990) (applying
enhancement to defendant who jumped bond). We agree with our sister circuits
and hold that escape from a halfway house is “escape from custody” for purposes
of section 3C1.1.
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III.
ACCEPTANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY
Section 3E1.1(a) of the guidelines allows for a two-level sentencing
decrease if a defendant “clearly demonstrates acceptance of responsibility for his
offense.” An additional one-level decrease may be available if the defendant
provides information to the government or makes a timely guilty plea. See
U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b). One important consideration in determining whether to
grant the adjustment is whether the defendant shows “voluntary termination or
withdrawal from criminal conduct or associations.” Id., Note 1(b). Mr.
Swanson’s original pre-sentence report included a recommendation for a three-
level reduction because of his guilty plea and other aid to the government. App.,
vol. III at ¶ 19. This recommendation was rescinded after his flight because at
the time of his arrest in Missouri he “acknowledged ownership of all
[methamphetamine paraphernalia] in his residence and further stated he was
attempting to manufacture methamphetamine.” Id.
The district court adopted the recommendations of the amended pre-
sentence report, denying an adjustment for acceptance of responsibility. In
reviewing this determination, we again consider application of the guidelines de
novo and underlying factual findings for clear error. Archuletta, 231 F.3d at 684.
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Because findings of fact play a central role, “the trial court’s determination of
whether a defendant has accepted responsibility is subject to great deference on
review and should not be disturbed unless it is without foundation.” United
States v. Amos, 984 F.2d 1067, 1071-72 (10th Cir. 1993).
Mr. Swanson contends the district court should have considered evidence
that he was not involved in drug manufacturing in Missouri and that he had
declared himself responsible for the manufacturing paraphernalia solely to protect
his girlfriend from criminal charges. The only evidence before the court,
however, was an unsworn letter from Mr. Swanson’s girlfriend to his attorney.
Mr. Swanson turned down the court’s offer of an evidentiary hearing on the issue.
The guidelines require only criminal associations, not actual criminal activity,
and regardless of his actual responsibility for the paraphernalia, Mr. Swanson was
living in an apartment where methamphetamine manufacturing took place.
Accordingly, the court did not commit clear error in concluding he had not
abandoned criminal activity as is required for an acceptance of responsibility
adjustment.
The fact questions regarding his acceptance of responsibility were of
marginal importance in any case because, absent extraordinary circumstances, a
defendant’s obstruction of justice itself “indicates that the defendant has not
accepted responsibility for his criminal conduct.” Archuletta, 231 F.3d at 686
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(quoting § 3E1.1, Note 4). We have held that “[c]onduct amounting to escape or
violation of an appearance bond is certainly evidence of failure to accept
responsibility, and this fact alone provides adequate foundation” for denial of the
downward adjustment. United States v. Hawley, 93 F.3d 682, 689 (10th Cir.
1996); see also Amos, 984 F.2d at 1073 (“because the obstruction enhancement
and acceptance of responsibility reduction are intertwined, recognition of the
obstruction enhancement [provides] grounds for the denial of Defendant’s
acceptance of responsibility reduction”). True acceptance of responsibility for a
crime includes acceptance of whatever justice society deems proper in response.
The obstruction of justice inherent in Mr. Swanson’s flight from custody provides
alternative grounds for denying the sentencing reduction for acceptance of
responsibility.
Mr. Swanson’s sentence is AFFIRMED.
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