United States v. Smith

MEMORANDUM ***

Defendant Terry William Smith pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(3). The district court sentenced him to sixty-three months’ imprisonment and to a fine of $10,000, “payable from [his] IRA account if available.” Smith appeals the imposition of the fine, raising several different arguments. Because it is not clear to us precisely what the sentence provides, we vacate Smith’s sentence and remand for further proceedings.

We are not sure what the qualification that the fine is “payable from [his] IRA account if available” means. Is the money in the IRA account “available” if it can be withdrawn, even if that triggers a monetary penalty or tax? If the money is not “available” from the account to pay the fine, is the fine still imposed? The judge’s oral comments at the sentencing hearing suggest that the fine was to be imposed only if it could be paid from the IRA account and not otherwise, but that is not entirely clear. What if the money is only “available” once defendant reaches a certain age — is the fine payable at that time, and not before, even if it is many years in the future? How is it to be…