UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Michael David CARPENTER, Defendant-Appellant

Michael David Carpenter appeals his sentence for criminal contempt. We remand for resentencing.

I.

Michael Carpenter was subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury pursuant to an order issued by the district court under 18 U.S.C. § 6002 . He refused to testify and was held in civil contempt and jailed for eight months, until the district court concluded further incarceration would not induce him to testify. He was indicted for criminal contempt following his release. He agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the govern ment. The government agreed to move for a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1 if he provided substantial assistance. The parties agreed that in the event of a downward departure Carpenter’s sentence should not exceed six months. The plea agreement warned Carpenter he could be sentenced to any term of imprisonment and to supervised release and a special assessment.

The Sentencing Guidelines do not contain a specific guideline for criminal contempt. However, U.S.S.G. § 2J1.1 says to apply U.S.S.G. § 2J1.1, which in turn directs the court to apply the most analogous offense guideline. The presentence report concluded the most analogous offense was…