FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
May 3, 2016
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v. No. 16-3025
(D.C. No. 5:14-CR-40014-DDC-3)
CHANEL SADE FOSTER, (D. Kan.)
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT*
Before BRISCOE, GORSUCH and McHUGH, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral
argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is, therefore,
submitted without oral argument.
Defendant Chanel Foster appeals from the district court’s imposition of a twelve-
month-and-one-day term of imprisonment following revocation of her supervised release.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of
law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its
persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
According to Foster, the district court committed plain procedural error by basing the
length of her revocation sentence on her need for rehabilitation services. Exercising
jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we agree with Foster. Consequently, we
remand to the district court with directions to vacate Foster’s revocation sentence and
resentence.
I
On October 17, 2014, Foster entered a plea of guilty to passing a counterfeit
obligation of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 472. The offense arose out of
Foster’s use of counterfeit money at a local grocery store. She was sentenced to a thirty-
six month term of probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $850. As part
of her probation, Foster was ordered to comply with various conditions, including that she
abstain from alcohol, maintain lawful employment, and undergo substance abuse, mental
health and anger management treatment.
On July 16, 2015, Foster’s probation was revoked due to her failure to pay the
restitution ordered by the district court, abstain from alcohol, work at a lawful occupation,
and participate in mental health treatment. She was sentenced to a term of imprisonment
of three months, to be followed by a two-year term of supervised release. As part of her
supervised release, Foster was again ordered, among other things, to abstain from alcohol
and participate in mental health and anger management treatment. She was also ordered
to reside at a residential reentry center for the first four months of her term of supervised
release.
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Foster began her term of supervised release on September 17, 2015. On December
28, 2015, she was discharged unsuccessfully from the residential reentry center in which
she was living due to her failure to follow rules. In particular, it was noted that she “had
numerous incidents with staff members regarding her attitude and behavior,” took
unauthorized amounts of medication on several occasions, and “failed to provide a breath
sample for alcohol testing” on December 20, 2015. ROA, Vol. II at 6. All of which
resulted in her being charged with violating the special conditions of her supervised
release.
The district court held a revocation hearing on January 13, 2016. After hearing
testimony from Foster and her probation officer, the district court found that she had
committed a Grade C violation by failing to reside at the residential reentry center for
four months, as required by the terms of her supervised release. ROA, Vol. III at 64. The
district court in turn decided to revoke Foster’s term of supervised release as a result of
that violation. Id. at 65. After acknowledging that the Policy Statement outlined in §
7B1.4 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines recommended a term of imprisonment
of three to nine months for the violation, ROA, Vol. III at 81, the district court sentenced
Foster to a term of imprisonment of twelve months and one day, id. at 82, to be followed
by no term of supervised release, id. at 84. The district court explained that it believed a
term of imprisonment was necessary to punish Foster “for violating the public trust.” Id.
at 82. The district court in turn stated that the length of the term of imprisonment it chose
was necessary to render Foster “eligible for certain programming while [she was] in
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custody.” Id. Consistent with that statement, the district court recommended to the
Bureau of Prisons that it provide Foster with “a mental health assessment and, if
appropriate, treatment,” as well as “medication monitoring and substance abuse
assessment and treatment, if treatment is appropriate.” Id. at 83.
Judgment was entered on January 21, 2016. Foster subsequently filed a timely
notice of appeal.
II
On appeal, Foster argues that the district court committed plain procedural error by
basing the length of her sentence on her need for rehabilitation and mental health and
drug treatment. Notably, the government has filed a confession of error, coupled with a
motion to remand, agreeing with Foster. Of course, we are not bound to accept the
government’s confession of error. Young v. United States, 315 U.S. 257, 258-59 (1942)
(noting that “our judicial obligations compel us to examine independently the errors
confessed”). But, having conducted our own examination of the record, we agree with
the parties that the district erred.
Where, as here, a defendant failed to make a specific argument in the district court,
“our review is for plain error.” United States v. Smith, 815 F.3d 671, 675 (10th Cir.
2016) “We will grant relief under the plain-error standard only if (1) the district court
committed an error, (2) the error is clear at the time of the appeal, (3) the error affects
substantial rights, and (4) the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public
reputation of judicial proceedings.” Id. (quotation marks omitted).
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The first two prongs of the plain error test are easily satisfied in this case. “For us
to characterize a proposition of law as well-settled, we normally require precedent
directly in point from the Supreme Court or our circuit or a consensus in the other
circuits.” Id. In Tapia v. United States, 564 U.S. 319, 332 (2011), the Supreme Court
held that the plain language of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(a) “precludes sentencing courts from
imposing or lengthening a prison term to promote an offender’s rehabilitation.” We in
turn have held, in light of Tapia, that “a district court imposing a revocation sentence
cannot take into account a defendant’s rehabilitative needs.” United States v. Mendiola,
696 F.3d 1033, 1036 (10th Cir. 2012).
Unfortunately, that is precisely what occurred in this case. Although the district
court reasonably concluded that some term of imprisonment was needed for purposes of
punishment, it ultimately selected the twelve-month-and-one-day term of imprisonment in
order to render Foster eligible for rehabilitation services provided by the Bureau of
Prisons. That, as we held in Mendiola, is improper and amounts to plain procedural error.
Id. at 1042.
Further, as was the case in Mendiola, we conclude that the third and fourth prongs
of the plain error test are satisfied because it is likely that, had the district court not
focused on Foster’s need for rehabilitation, it would have imposed a lesser sentence. Id.
Consequently, we must remand the case to the district court for resentencing. Id.
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We GRANT the government’s motion to remand, and REVERSE and REMAND
to the district court with directions to vacate Foster’s revocation sentence and resentence.
Entered for the Court
Mary Beck Briscoe
Circuit Judge
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