United States v. Paul Y.B. Hahn

Paul Y.B. Hahn was convicted after a jury trial on four counts related to the illegal possession of a firearm and slightly less than a gram of methamphetamine. In similar cases involving this amount of methamphetamine, the United States Sentencing Guidelines prescribe a range of ten to sixteen months’ incarceration. Yet on the drug possession offenses, Hahn was sentenced to prison for ninety-seven months — just over eight years — because of “relevant conduct” which occurred more than five months prior to the conduct for which Hahn was convicted. The issue before us concerns whether conduct extraneous to a conviction is nevertheless relevant in passing sentence. We vacate Hahn’s sentence and remand for resentencing.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

On March 18, 1989, Honolulu police approached Hahn’s parked car to investigate a discrepancy between the car’s apparently valid registration sticker and a report that the car’s registration had expired. When Hahn opened one of the car’s tinted windows, the police saw a pistol lodged between the car’s seats. Hahn and Lori Mit-sunaga, the car’s other occupant, were then arrested. Two searches of the car resulted in the seizure of approximately…