United States v. Siamac Zakhor

I.

In this appeal, we determine whether section 5E1.2(i) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines was validly promulgated under the version of the Sentencing Reform Act in effect at the time of Zakhor’s sentencing, and whether the section violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

Siamac Zakhor pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3281 , on April 5, 1994. On June 22, 1994, the district court sentenced Zakhor to three years’ probation and ordered him to pay more than $20,000 in fines and restitution. The fines included a $6,500 fine under section 5E1.2(i) to recover the cost of his community supervision. Zakhor filed a motion to correct his sentence under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(c), challenging the validity of Guideline section 5E1.2(i). The district court entered an order denying Zakhor’s Rule 35(c) motion, and Zakhor appeals.

We have jurisdiction over Zakhor’s appeal under 18 U.S.C. § 3742 . On appeal, Zakhor raises the same arguments as the ones he raised in his Rule 35(c) motion: that the Sentencing Reform Act did not authorize the Sentencing Commission to promulgate section 5E1.2(i), and that section…