United States v. Raymond Joseph Johns
Opinion
Opinion
Fernandez, J.
Raymond Joseph Johns, Jr., was indicted for and pled guilty to armed bank robbery. 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a) & (d). At sentencing the district judge determined that an amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines precluded her from giving Johns a downward departure based upon his asserted youthful lack of guidance. Johns claims that application of the amendment to him violated the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution. See U.S. Const, art. I, § 9, cl. 3. We agree. We vacate the sentence and remand for further proceedings.
BACKGROUND
There is no dispute about the historical facts that led to this prosecution. On July 3, 1992, Johns entered a branch of Security Pacific National Bank and robbed it at gunpoint — a toy gun as it turned out. There is no need to recount the details of his bungled attempt to abscond with the funds. He was soon captured. He was then indicted and pled guilty to the offense.
Johns was sentenced on November 16, 1992. He argued that the district court should give him a discretionary downward departure based upon his youthful lack of guidance. That had been a proper ground for departure at the time Johns committed the offense. See United States v. Floyd, 945 F.2d…