On appeal from denial of his motion to vacate sentence, 28 U.S.C. § 2255, Lawary raises two issues. First he alleges that his sentence was improper because the court, at sentencing, failed to make an explicit finding that he would not benefit from sentencing under the Youth Corrections Act, 18 U.S.C. § 5010. Such a finding is mandated by
Dorszynski
v.
United States,
In April of 1973, Lawary was charged in State Court with armed robbery. He pled guilty on October 11 and was sentenced to four to twelve years in the penitentiary. Meanwhile, in August he committed another crime (it may be surmised that he held up a post office) and on January 24,1974 he pled guilty to assaulting a United States Postal Clerk. He was sentenced for this crime to ten years in prison to run concurrent with the state sentence. This is the sentence challenged in this appeal. At the time of sentencing in 1974 Lawary was 18 *220 years old, but no reference was made during sentencing to the Youth Corrections Act or his eligibility for sentencing under it. At the sentencing hearing the judge asked:
Mr. Lawary, do you have any explanation as to why you were charged in April of last year with armed robbery and then you go out and you commit this one in August? Is there any explanation for that?
The defendant replied “I just needed some money — I couldn’t get no job or nothing.” The judge then said:
Well, Mr. Lawary, the Court has reviewed this presentence report and based upon your performance in school and the fact that you appear to be just totally unmotivated to do any type of — or conduct yourself in an orderly, useful manner, I don’t feel that I have any choice but to try to help you in some way, which I want to do. The only way that I know to do that is to sentence you to the penitentiary. Now, you are a young man. You are eighteen. But, you have seen more of some parts of life than most people will in a lifetime at eighteen. And here, you’ve had three commitments already to a penal institution and you were paroled three times and two of them you couldn’t make it, isn’t that right, Mr. Lawary?
On June 26, 1974 the Supreme Court decided
Dorszynski
v.
United States, supra,
reversing
This Court was fully aware of the Youth Corrections Act and petitioner’s eligibility for treatment thereunder at the time of sentencing but determined that petitioner would derive no benefit from such treatment and, consequently sentenced petitioner as an adult. It would serve no useful purpose toward the administration of justice to now bring the petitioner before this Court to explicitly state on the record what this Court implicitly held at the time of sentencing.
Judge Foreman also ruled that
Dorszynski
should not apply retroactively, citing
Marshall v. United States,
On June 12, 1978, Lawary filed a new § 2255 motion, alleging two grounds for relief. First, that the court in sentencing had impermissibly considered prior unconstitutional convictions obtained when he was not represented by counsel. Second, if those unconstitutional convictions had not been considered, the court would have found sentencing under the Youth Corrections Act appropriate. The court’s failure to make an explicit no benefit ruling was not raised by Lawary in this motion. 2
In denying Lawary’s motion on June 29, 1978 Judge Foreman raised that issue sua sponte, and rejected it again, repeating language borrowed from his order denying the first motion. On the Dorszynski issue he said:
At the time of sentencing, the Court made no express finding that the defend *221 ant would not benefit under the Federal Youth Corrections Act. Nevertheless, the Court was fully aware of the Act and petitioner’s eligibility for treatment thereunder. The Court had determined that petitioner would derive no benefit from treatment under the Act.
On the second issue the court said:
Petitioner also claims the Court errored [sic] by taking into account juvenile adjudications obtained without the benefit of counsel. The Court, however, gave no consideration to these adjudications. Rather, it was more impressed by the fact that petitioner had recently been sentenced for armed robbery in the state court.
The District Court having raised sua sponte the Dorpzynski issue of its failure to make explicit no benefit findings, that issue is properly before us on appeal.
SUCCESSIVE MOTIONS
The government argues that since Lawary’s first § 2255 motion, seeking retroactive application of
Dorszynski,
was considered and denied by the district court, this second motion, in so far as it raises the same issue, should have been rejected. According to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, “The sentencing court shall not be required to entertain a second or successive motion for similar relief on behalf of the same prisoner.” This provision was given comprehensive interpretation in
Sanders v. United States,
The judge is permitted, not compelled, to decline to entertain such an application, and then only if he ‘is satisfied that the ends of justice will not be served’ by inquiring into the merits.
The principles governing . . .. denial of a hearing on a successive application are addressed to the sound discretion of the federal trial judges. Theirs is the major responsibility for just and sound administration of the federal collateral remedies, and theirs must be the judgment as to whether a second or successive application shall be denied without consideration of the merits. Even as to such an application, the federal judge, clearly has the power — and, if the ends of justice demand, the duty — to reach the merits.
Sanders v. United States, supra,
at 18,
Where a successive § 2255 motion is dismissed as raising issues identical to those raised before, no appeal having been taken from dismissal of the first motion, we have denied review on the grounds that otherwise “we would, in a real sense, be extending his time for appeal.”
Arrington v. United States,
*222 RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF DORSZYNSKI
In
United States v. Donner,
Since the required finding was not entered ‘on the record’ we, therefore, must vacate appellant’s sentence and remand his case to the district court for resen-tencing.
Other circuits which have considered the retroactive application of Dorszynski, having previously applied it retroactively without comment, have held that it does apply retroactively, but that its requirement of an explicit no benefit finding may be satisfied by an ex post facto finding by the judge considering the § 2255 motion,
that at the time of sentence he was familiar with the Act, that he was aware that the defendant was a person eligible for treatment under the Act, that consideration was in fact given to employing the Act with respect to the defendant, and that it was determined at the time that the defendant would not benefit from treatment under the Act.
Brager v. United States,
The weakness with this position, adopted by Brager, Robinson, and McKnabb, is that it undermines the Supreme Court’s purpose in Dorszynski in requiring an explicit no benefit finding, which was to facilitate appellate confirmation that the Youth Corrections Act had been considered and the discretion of the district court had been exercised. The Court said:
Although well-established doctrine bars review of the exercise of sentencing discretion, limited review is available when sentencing discretion is not exercised at all. [Citations omitted.] The requirement of the ‘no benefit’ finding was designed to insure that the sentencing judge exercised his discretion in choosing not to commit a youth offender to treatment under the Act. Such a finding would make unmistakably clear that the sentencing judge was not only aware of the existence of the new Act, but also knew that the youth offender before him *223 was eligible because of his age for the treatment provided.
As a number of courts have recognized, however, if
Dorszynski
is retroactive, the appeals court remanding for resentencing may be compelling a useless act.
Sappington v. United States,
Once the sentencing judge has “reconsidered” the alternative sentencing in connection with a § 2255 petition and has rejected the possibility of benefits under the F.Y.C.A., it is a futile gesture on appeal from denial of the motion to vacate the sentence and return to the same judge to make the same determination.
Robinson, supra, n. 5, at 1110. Robinson bases its acceptance of an ex post facto finding on the proposition that “Dorszynski does not stipulate when the explicit finding of no benefit must be made,” but we find this unconvincing.
Those courts which have held that
Dor-szynski
applies only prospectively (see, n. 1, supra) have all done so on the basis of the criteria for retroactive application of constitutional rules of criminal procedure, enunciated in
Stovall v. Denno,
(a) the purpose to be served by the new standards,
(b) the extent of the reliance by law enforcement authorities on the old standards, and
(c) the effect on the administration of justice of a retroactive application of the new standards.
Those criteria are equally applicable to non-constitutional decisions concerning statutory interpretation. 7
The fullest application of these criteria to
Dorszynski
is found in
United States v. Brackett,
Congress prescribed the age limits for that particularized rehabilitative effort. Appellant has long since exceeded them, as will have many, if not indeed most, others who collaterally challenge their sentences.
There comes a time, in the criminal law as elsewhere, where the more remote past cannot be set to rights in response to late-blooming legal doctrine, at least not without impairment of other vital interests. This is such a case, and because we believe it to be characteristic of those that will arise on collateral attack, we state our judgment to be that the retrospective operation of Dorszynski shall, in *224 respect to sentences imposed prior to the issuance of our decision in Coefield, be restricted to direct appeals arising therefrom. 8
Our own consideration of the issue of retroactivity in light of the
Stovall v. Denno
criteria suggests that retroactive application is inappropriate. The purpose of
Dorszynski,
as we have indicated, was to assure the YCA sentencing was considered at the time sentence was pronounced. What was omitted cannot be restored. Reliance on the previous rule may have been extensive in this circuit, since in
United States v. Dorszynski,
If Dorszynski were applied retroactively two classes of offender might be affected, those who would have been sentenced under the YCA had the judge not completely forgotten that option; and those who would have been denied YCA sentencing anyway. Both groups are now almost certainly too old for resentencing under the YCA. Some, however, will still be eligible for the same procedures under Young Adult Offenders sentencing (18 U.S.C. § 4216), which allows a court at its discretion to extend YCA benefits to defendants between 22 and 26 years old.
The purpose of sentencing under the YCA is to facilitate rehabilitation of youthful offenders.
See Dorszynski,
Young Adult Offender sentencing, however, is left entirely to the district court’s discretion, and the court is not required to make any explicit findings.
United States v. Negron,
*225 We hold, accordingly, that the Dorszynski requirement of an explicit no benefit finding does not apply retroactively. This is not, however, to limit the possibility of remand where the sentencing judge in fact omitted consideration of YCA sentencing.
CONSIDERATION OF UNCONSTITUTIONAL CONVICTIONS
We turn now to the issue which Lawary himself raised in his § 2255 petition, the consideration by the judge in sentencing of three prior juvenile convictions obtained without appointment of counsel. The government does not deny that
United States v. Tucker,
There are two problems with the government’s argument. First, the district court did not explicitly say that Lawary’s sentence had not been enhanced. The court said that it:
gave no consideration to these adjudications. Rather, it was more impressed by the fact that petitioner had recently been sentenced for armed robbery in the state court.
Accordingly, the Court finds no basis of vacating petitioner’s sentence.
Although the court said it did not consider the prior convictions, it is undeniable that it did in some sense “consider” them, since it explicitly commented on them, saying,
And here, you’ve had three commitments already to a penal institution and you were paroled three times and two of them you couldn’t make it, isn’t that right, Mr. Lawary?
The second problem with the government’s argument is that Lawary raised two claims in his petition — first that consideration of the unconstitutional convictions enhanced the adult sentence he was given and second that consideration of those convictions prevented his being sentenced under the YCA — but the district court did not treat them as separate claims. The district court’s ex post facto no benefit finding does not expressly answer the second of La-wary’s allegations, since the no benefit finding could conceivably have been based on unconstitutional considerations.
The question before us then, is what disclaimer of reliance on invalid prior convictions is sufficient to satisfy
Tucker
? In
Tucker
itself the trial judge heard testimony at the sentencing hearing regarding the prior convictions.
This Court has not explicitly discussed this issue. In
Crovedi
v.
United States,
while not precluding in his memorandum opinion that the conviction record may have been a part of the “surrounding circumstances” entering into the determination of “what action is appropriate and to what extent punishment should be imposed,” the judge was of the opinion that “the sentence imposed upon the petitioner was entirely appropriate . . .regardless of the invalidity or absence of convictions noted in the presentence report.”
As to both sentences, I took certain factors into consideration at the time I imposed them, I thought that they were proper at the time that the sentences were imposed. There is nothing in the Court of Appeals’ opinion that changes my view as to the factors that I did take into consideration. Those factors still influence me and I think that the ten-year sentence under the particular conditions of this case was entirely proper.
We then commented:
The clear implication of this statement is that the district judge, in originally setting the sentences on the valid counts, had not relied on the convictions on the counts which were subsequently declared invalid, but he had relied instead on certain other factors which were not affected by the subsequent partial reversal, and that in denying the Rule 35 motion, he continued to rely only upon such factors.519 F.2d at 312 . Thus, in Crovedi, we had an express determination that the sentences remained “entirely appropriate,” and in Cardi a determination that invalid factors had not been relied on and the sentence remained “entirely proper.” Our cases do not suggest what language we should find insufficient.
The Fourth Circuit has held insufficient statements that the original sentence remained “appropriate,”
Stepheney v. United States,
Crovedi
and
Cardi
are not dispositive of this appeal, however, because in those two cases there was an express determination that the original sentence remained appropriate. In a recent comprehensive reconsideration of procedure in
Tucker
appeals, the Ninth Circuit has explained that a district court may dismiss a § 2255 motion on two different rationales.
Farrow v. United States,
Nonetheless, according to the Ninth Circuit
where the district judge’s disclaimer of reliance on the invalid priors is in fact contradicted by the record, we have held that the case must be remanded . . . [citing] Leano v. United States,494 F.2d 361 (9th Cir. 1974).
*227 Farrow, supra, at 1348. Accord, Grant v. White, 579 F.2d 48 (8th Cir. 1978). The problem in the appeal before us is that the district judge followed the second procedure in dismissing the § 2255 motion, but his memory is seemingly contradicted by the record.
The Ninth Circuit limited
Leano, supra,
in
Wilson v. United States,
reversal is required only in cases such as Leano [supra] where, as stated in Wilson, “[t]here was no support in the record for the court’s statement that it has not relied on the prior conviction.”
Quoting
We would prefer that the district court had more clearly addressed the two separate grounds which Lawary raised in his petition. Nonetheless, we understand his disclaimer to apply equally to both grounds, and to mean that the prior convictions influenced neither the adult sentence imposed, nor the decision to reject YCA sentencing. With regard to the latter, we note that the four to twelve year state sentence Lawary had recently incurred would itself have virtually precluded YCA sentencing, since Lawary would be 22, and too old for YCA sentencing, before the end of his minimum term. 11 The bank robbery and its resultant sentence thus establish a substantial basis in the record to support the district court’s disclaimer. Accordingly, the order of the district court dismissing the § 2255 motion is affirmed.
Notes
. Against retroactivity:
United States v. Brackett,185 U.S.App.D.C. 394 ,567 F.2d 501 (1977) (en banc), cert. denied435 U.S. 968 ,98 S.Ct. 1605 ,56 L.Ed.2d 58 (implicit finding inferred from the record); Jackson v. United States,510 F.2d 1335 (10th Cir. 1975); (holding that Dorszynski is not retroactive, but that it is satisfied by an ex post facto explicit finding);
Owens v. United States,383 F.Supp. 780 (M.D.Pa.1974), aff'd mem.515 F.2d 507 (3rd Cir. 1975), cert. denied423 U.S. 996 ,96 S.Ct. 425 ,46 L.Ed.2d 371 (1975);
United States v. Kaylor,491 F.2d 1133 (2nd Cir. 1974) (en banc) (a pre-Dorszynski holding that the no benefit finding must be explicit, but that the rule applies only prospectively), vacated and remanded on other grounds sub nom. United States v. Hoplins,418 U.S. 909 ,94 S.Ct. 3201 ,41 L.Ed.2d 1155 (1974).
See also
Ferguson v. United States,447 F.Supp. 1213 (S.D.N.Y.1978) (following United States v. Kaylor, supra, as still stating the law in the Second Circuit);
Marshall v. United States,389 F.Supp. 729 (E.D.Wis.1975) (dictum); and
Chandler v. United States,401 F.Supp. 658 (D.N.J. 1975) (dictum), aff’d mem.546 F.2d 415 (3rd Cir. 1976), cert. denied430 U.S. 986 (1977).
Favoring retroactivity, but accepting ex post facto findings:
Brager v. United States,527 F.2d 895 (8th Cir. 1975); Robinson v. United States,536 F.2d 1109 (5th Cir. 1976); McKnabb v. United States,551 F.2d 101 (6th Cir. 1977) (retro-activity issue reserved).
For retroactivity:
McCray v. United States,542 F.2d 1246 (4th Cir. 1976).
. The petition, in Lawary’s own words, reads as follows:
A. Ground One: “The Court errored in sentencing defendant to adult sentence”
Supporting FACTS: “The Court errored in considering or taking into account juvenile records of defendant that was obtained by the juvenile court without appointing defendant an attorney.”
B. Ground Two: “The defendant was eligible for the Youth Correction Act.”
Supporting FACTS: “If the Court doing [during] the time of sentencing hadn’t took into consideration three convictions obtained without appointment of counsel, makes the three convictions invalid. In this light the court or sentencing Judge would have seen defendant character as being of a different nature, which would have brought about the Youth Correction Act.”
. Cf.
Rewak v. United States,
. No judge favored a rehearing in banc on the question of United States v. Donner.
.
Brager
for example, follows
Sappington v. United States,
Brager
also cites, in favor of retroactivity,
United States v. Hopkins,
. A further problem with the
Brager
rule, which
Brager
itself reveals, is that it doesn’t reach the situation of a sentencing judge who is not available to rule on the subsequent § 2255 motion.
See
.
Bailey v. Holley,
.
United States v. Coefield,
. Statistics were presented to the D.C. Circuit in
Brackett, supra,
on the number of persons likely to benefit from full retroactivity, and the court commented that “The figures on their face are not impressively supportive of appellant’s point, since they reveal very substantial numbers of defendants in the period from 1965 to 1972 receiving adult sentences despite their age eligibility for YCA.”
. This is so even though, as Lawary argues, on remand for consideration of YCA sentencing the judge might reconsider the sentence in light of the present records.
United States v. Hopkins,
. He might have been paroled earlier, pursuant to 38 Ill.Rev.Stat. § 1003-3-3(a)(l), but that possibility does not lessen the sufficiency of the bank robbery as a ground for precluding YCA sentencing.
