United States v. Bruce Backus
550 F. App'x 260
6th Cir.2014Background
- In 1994 Backus (age 20) had sexual intercourse with a child under 16; in 1995 he pled nolo contendere in Florida to violating Fla. Stat. § 800.04(3) (1994), which cross-references § 794.011(h) (sexual battery). The court withheld adjudication and placed him on probation.
- In 2002 Florida revoked probation and sentenced Backus to prison; an amended 2005 judgment reflected the violated statute was § 800.04(3) (1994).
- Under SORNA, Backus was required to register as a sex offender and to keep his registration current. He last updated his Florida registration on June 14, 2011, then moved to Tennessee in July 2011 without notifying authorities.
- Federal indictment (Dec. 2011) charged Backus with violating 18 U.S.C. § 2250(a) for failing to update his registration. He pled guilty, then moved to withdraw the plea claiming actual innocence because his registration period had expired if he were a Tier I offender.
- The district court denied the motion, concluded Backus is a Tier II offender, and sentenced him to 27 months (within the advisory Guidelines range). The Sixth Circuit reviewed de novo whether his predicate offense made him Tier II and affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Backus’s Florida conviction qualifies him as a Tier II sex offender under 42 U.S.C. § 16911(3)(A)(iv) | Backus: conviction was for a lesser lewd/lascivious offense (Tier I); registration period expired | Government: conviction under Fla. § 800.04(3) (1994) is comparable to 18 U.S.C. § 2243(a) (sexual act with a 12–15-year-old) => Tier II | Conviction is for an offense comparable to § 2243(a); Backus is Tier II; affirmed |
| Whether the district court erred in denying withdrawal of the guilty plea | Backus: actual innocence because his registration period as Tier I had run by July 2011 | Government: even under earliest possible start date, a 25-year Tier II period had not expired; failure to register was thus criminal | District court did not abuse discretion in denying plea withdrawal |
| Whether sentencing used correct Guidelines range given Tier II classification | Backus: challenges Tier II classification and resulting offense-level increase | Government: Tier II status increases offense level per U.S.S.G. § 2A3.5(a); PSR calculation correct | Court properly applied Guidelines and imposed 27 months |
| Whether the 1994 Florida judgment’s language creates ambiguity about the statute of conviction | Backus: judgment language referenced “lewd or lascivious” acts suggesting § 800.04(4) | Government: judgment explicitly cited the cross-referenced subsection; amended judgment confirmed § 800.04(3) | Sixth Circuit treated the conviction as § 800.04(3) and found no clear error |
Key Cases Cited
- Peugh v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2072 (2013) (standard for review of sentencing discretion noted)
- United States v. Parks, 700 F.3d 775 (6th Cir. 2012) (review standard for plea-withdrawal motions)
- United States v. Lumbard, 706 F.3d 716 (6th Cir. 2013) (questions of statutory interpretation reviewed de novo)
- United States v. Beasley, 442 F.3d 386 (6th Cir. 2006) (district court factual findings on ambiguous state judgments reviewed for clear error)