United States v. Matthew Jensen
705 F.3d 976
9th Cir.2013Background
- Defendant Jensen pleaded guilty in 2009 to unlawful possession of a mail key under § 1704, with a maximum ten years’ imprisonment.
- District court sentenced Jensen to 12 months’ imprisonment plus 36 months’ supervised release.
- Jensen violated the terms of supervised release, leading to revocation and 14 months’ imprisonment.
- After revocation, Jensen fled surrender, was captured, and pleaded guilty to failure to appear under § 3146.
- District court imposed a 27-month sentence for failure to appear; the issue is what the statutory maximum applies under § 3146(b)(1)(A).
- The central question is whether the “offense” for § 3146(b)(1)(A) is Jensen’s underlying mail-key offense or his supervised-release violation.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| What offense governs the § 3146(b)(1)(A) maximum | Prosecution: underlying offense governs | Jensen: violation of supervised release governs | Underlying offense governs, five-year maximum applied |
| Is a supervised-release violation an “offense” for § 3146(b)(1)(A) purposes | The violation is the relevant offense by context | Violation not an offense under § 3156(a) definitions | No; supervised-release violation does not meet the statutory definition of offense or felony |
| Can the text allow releases “in connection with” the original offense to control | Release was tied to original charge | Text should control only direct releases related to original charge | Text supports releases in connection with the original offense; governs the maximum |
| Whether legislative text requires treating the underlying crime as the trigger for § 3146(b)(1)(A)(ii)–(iii) | Text defines offense as underlying crime | Interpreting to include supervised-release violations would be inconsistent | Text requires underlying crime; supervised-release violation excluded |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Phillips, 640 F.3d 154 (6th Cir. 2011) (violate? not an offense; underlying crime governs)
- United States v. Smith, 500 F.3d 27 (1st Cir. 2007) (supervised-release violation not an offense)
- United States v. Woodard, 675 F.3d 1147 (8th Cir. 2012) (violation of supervised release not an offense; broader interpretive approach)
- United States v. McIntosh, 2012 WL 6172571 (7th Cir. 2012) (textual approach to § 3146(b)(1)(A))
- United States v. Youssef, 547 F.3d 1090 (9th Cir. 2008) (per curiam; underlying offense governs)
- Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc., 458 U.S. 564 (1982) (parse plain meaning unless absurd results)
- Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., 545 U.S. 546 (2005) (odd but not absurd result; legislative fix needed)