United States v. Ronald Johnson

ORDER

Defendant Ronald Randolf Johnson appeals the twelve-month sentence imposed following his guilty plea to one count of acquiring or obtaining possession of a controlled substance by deception in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843 (a)(3). He further challenges the condition of supervised release imposed as part of his sentence requiring that he not possess a controlled substance under any circumstances, even with a doctor’s prescription.

In his plea agreement, Johnson waived his right “to appeal the reasonableness of the sentence, including conditions of probation or supervised release, if the defendant has no objection to the calculation of the guidelines and the sentence imposed is within or below the' range provided for by that calculation.” We recognize that the distinction between an objection to the calculation of the Guidelines range and a request for a downward departure from that range may not always be clear to defendants. In light of potential ambiguity, we suggest that the United States Attorney’s Office consider using more precise language in its appellate waivers regarding this distinction. However, in this case Johnson was specifically admonished that his Guidelines…