United States v. Anderson

USCA1 Opinion












June 29, 1995 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT




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No. 95-1119

UNITED STATES,

Appellee,

v.

ROBYN L. ANDERSON,

Defendant, Appellant.


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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE

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

____________________

Before

Cyr, Boudin and Lynch,
Circuit Judges. ______________

____________________

Robert M. Napolitano, on brief for appellant. ____________________
Jay P. McCloskey, United States Attorney, and Michael M. DuBose, _________________ _________________
Assistant United States Attorney, on Motion For Summary Disposition
for appellee.


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Per Curiam. Defendant Robyn Anderson was ___________

convicted of wire fraud, bank fraud and credit card fraud.

She appeals only from one aspect of her sentence -- a two-

level enhancement, pursuant to U.S.S.G. 3C1.1, for

obstruction of justice. In so doing, defendant does not

challenge the district court's determination that she

committed perjury in testifying at the trial. Rather, she

argues that the district court made insufficiently specific

factual findings as to each element of a perjury violation.

Thus, she concludes, the matter must be remanded so the

district court may make the requisite findings.

Once a district court determines that a defendant's

testimony constitutes perjury, 3C1.1 mandates a two-level

enhancement in that defendant's base offense level. United ______

States v. Austin, 948 F.2d 783, 788 (1st Cir. 1991). A ______ ______

witness who testifies under oath commits perjury "if she

gives false testimony concerning a material matter with the

willful intent to provide false testimony, rather than as a

result of confusion, mistake or faulty memory." United ______

States v. Dunnigan, 113 S.Ct. 1111, 1116 (1993). In deciding ______ ________

whether a defendant's BOL should be enhanced on the basis of

perjury, the district court must make "independent findings"

that "encompass[] all of the factual predicates for a finding

of perjury." Id. at 1117. "A sentencing court, however, is __

not required to address each element of perjury in a separate



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and clear finding." United States v. Matiz, 14 F.3d 79, 84 _____________ _____

(1st Cir. 1994).

Here, the district court judge stated that the

"testimony the defendant gave was clearly false, was false in

material ways to the issue of guilt or innocence, and . . .

was willful." He stated also that "all of the factual

predicates for a finding of perjury have been met." It is

difficult to distinguish this language from the language the

Court approved in Dunnigan. In determining that defendant ________

had committed perjury, the Dunnigan sentencing court stated ________

only that the defendant had been "untruthful at trial with

respect to material matters" and that the statements were

"designed to substantially affect the outcome of the case."

Dunnigan, 113 S.Ct. at 1114-15 (internal quotation marks ________

omitted).

Defendant argues that the Court in Dunnigan ________

intended to limit its endorsement of such conclusory language

to the facts of that case. Thus, she posits, Dunnigan ________

requires sentencing courts, in future cases, to make

"separate and clear" findings. There is no support in

Dunnigan or elsewhere for this interpretation. Indeed, in ________ ______

Matiz, we relied on Dunnigan to reject a challenge to equally _____ ________

terse phrasing. Matiz, 14 F.3d at 84 (the sentencing court _____

stated that it "did not credit" defendant's testimony, that





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defendant "knowingly told a false story" and that defendant

"did commit perjury").

The judgment of the district court is summarily

affirmed. See Local Rule 27.1. ________ ___













































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