United States v. Wallace Dale Lowery

726 F.2d 474 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Wallace Dale LOWERY, Defendant-Appellant. No. 83-1056. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Dec. 6, 1983. Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied March 1, 1984. Brian Sullivan, Asst. U.S. Atty., Reno, Nev., for plaintiff-appellee. Daniel Markoff, Federal Public Defender, Reno, Nev., for defendant-appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Before TUTTLE, * WALLACE, and PREGERSON, Circuit Judges. WALLACE, Circuit Judge: 1 Lowery appeals the district court's denial of his rule 35 motion for a correction and reduction of his sentence under the Federal Youth Corrections Act, 18 U.S.C. Secs. 5005-5026 (YCA). The district court, 559 F.Supp. 688 , held that a young adult offender guilty of a felony may receive an indeterminate sentence, as provided for by the YCA, although the maximum sentence for an adult guilty of the same felony would be shorter. We affirm. 2 * Lowery, a twenty-three year old male, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1112 . The district court decided that Lowery would benefit from treatment under the YCA. The YCA defines "youth…

Lowery appeals the district court’s denial of his rule 35 motion for a correction and reduction of his sentence under the Federal Youth Corrections Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 5005-5026 (YCA). The district court, 559 F.Supp. 688 , held that a young adult offender guilty of a felony may receive an indeterminate sentence, as provided for by the YCA, although the maximum sentence for an adult guilty of the same felony would be shorter. We affirm.

I

Lowery, a twenty-three year old male, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter under 18 U.S.C. § 1112 . The district court decided that Lowery would benefit from treatment under the YCA. The YCA defines “youth offenders” covered by its provisions as persons under the age of *476 twenty-two at the time of conviction'. 18 U.S.C. § 5006 (e). An offender between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-six, however, may also be sentenced under the YCA as a “young adult offender” if “the court finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant will benefit from the treatment provided under the [YCA].” 18 U.S.C. § 4216 . Lowery was therefore committed to the custody of the Attorney General for treatment and supervision under 18 U.S.C. §…

dissenting.

I dissent.

As the majority recognizes, our circuit has not directly addressed the issue whether indeterminate Youth Corrections Act (YCA) sentences for felony offenses should be limited to the maximum sentences that adults could receive for the same offense. I be *479 lieve, however, that the rationale for our holding in United States v. Amidon, 627 F.2d 1023 (9th Cir.1980), reflected in United States v. Smith, 683 F.2d 1236 (9th Cir.1982) (en banc), and United States v. Bell, 707 F.2d 1080 (9th Cir.1983) (per curiam), requires us to impose such a limitation.

The district court in Amidon sentenced the appellant, convicted of a misdemeanor, to a six-year indeterminate term under the YCA. We reversed, holding that “a youth may not be sentenced to a term of confinement under the YCA that exceeds the statutory maximum that an adult could receive.” 627 F.2d at 1026 . Our holding was based on the belief that in enacting the Federal Magistrates Act of 1979 Congress intended “that neither a district court judge nor a magistrate may sentence a youth under the Youth Corrections Act to a term of confinement longer than it could impose on an adult.” 627 F.2d at 1027 . We…