FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO REVOKE DEFENDANT'S SUPERVISED RELEASE
JOHN JOHNSTON, Magistrate Judge.
I. Synopsis
The United States accused Ms. Morrison of violating her conditions of supervised release by (1) using methamphetamine and (2) committing another crime while on supervised release. Ms. Morrison admitted to the allegations. Her supervised release should be revoked. She should be sentenced to seven months of custody, with fifty-three months of supervised release to follow.
II. Status
Ms. Morrison pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substance in July 2009. United States District Judge for the District of Wyoming Alan Johnson sentenced her to 120 months in custody followed by sixty months of supervised release. She began her current term of supervised release on January 18, 2013.
Jurisdiction over this case was transferred to the District of Montana in September 2013. (Doc. 1) The United States Probation Office submitted a Petition/Order Setting Conditions of Release with Consent of Offender in September 2014 modifying the terms of Ms. Morrison's supervised release to include increased drug and alcohol testing and drug or mental health treatment because she consumed alcohol. (Doc. 5) Ms. Morrison completed a twelve week outpatient chemical dependency program following the modification. (Doc. 6)
Petition
The United States Probation Office filed a petition asking the Court to revoke Ms. Morrison's supervised release on November 30, 2016. (Id.) The Probation Office accused her of violating her conditions of supervised release by (1) using methamphetamine and (2) committing another crime while on supervised release. (Id.) United States District Judge Charles Lovell issued a warrant for her arrest on the same day. (Doc. 7)
Initial appearance
Ms. Morrison appeared before the undersigned for her initial appearance on December 14, 2016, in Great Falls, Montana. Federal Defender Anthony Gallagher accompanied her. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Weldon represented the United States.
Ms. Morrison said she had read the petition and understood the allegations. She waived the preliminary hearing, and the parties consented to proceed with the revocation hearing before the undersigned.
Revocation hearing
Ms. Morrison admitted that she violated the conditions of her supervised release. The violations are serious and warrant revocation of her supervised release.
Ms. Morrison's violation grade is Grade B, her criminal history category is III, and her underlying offense is a Class A felony. She could be incarcerated for up to sixty months. She could be ordered to remain on supervised release for sixty months, less any custody time imposed. The United States Sentencing Guidelines call for eight to fourteen months in custody.
Mr. Gallagher recommended a sentence below or at the low end of the guideline range, with supervised release to follow. Mr. Weldon agreed a high end sentence was not necessary but expressed concern that when Ms. Morrison was arrested, she had baggies and a scale in her possession. Ms. Morrison addressed the Court and stated that she had been involved in an abusive relationship and that her life was spiraling out of control when she was arrested.
III. Analysis
Ms. Morrison's supervised release should be revoked because she admitted violating its conditions. She should be sentenced to seven months in custody, with fifty-three months of supervised release to follow. This sentence would be sufficient given the serious violation of the Court's trust, but it would not be greater than necessary.
IV. Conclusion
Ms. Morrison was advised that the above sentence would be recommended to Judge Morris. The Court reminded her of her right to object to these Findings and Recommendations within 14 days of their issuance. The undersigned explained that Judge Morris would consider her objection, if it is filed within the allotted time, before making a final determination on whether to revoke her supervised release and what, if any, sanction to impose.
The Court FINDS:
Chanci Linn Morrison violated her conditions of supervised release by (1) using methamphetamine and (2) committing another crime while on supervised release.
The Court RECOMMENDS:
The district court should enter the attached Judgment, revoking Ms. Morrison's supervised release and committing her to the custody of the United States Bureau of Prisons for seven months, with fifty-three months of supervised release to follow.
NOTICE OF RIGHT TO OBJECT TO FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO OBJECT
The parties may serve and file written objections to the Findings and Recommendations within 14 days of their entry, as indicated on the Notice of Electronic Filing. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). A district judge will make a de novo determination regarding any portion of the Findings and Recommendations to which objection is made. The district judge may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the Findings and Recommendations. Failure to timely file written objections may bar a de novo determination by the district judge, and may waive the right to appear and allocute before a district judge.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
District of Montana
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Judgment in a Criminal Case
v. (For Revocation of Probation or Supervised Release)
CHANCI LINN MORRISON
Case No. CR 13-16-H-CCL-01
USM No. 10914-091
Anthony R. Gallagher
Defendant's Attorney
THE DEFENDANT:
[✓] admitted guilt to violation of condition(s) as listed below of the term of supervision.
[] was found in violation of condition(s) ______________ after denial of guilt.
The defendant is adjudicated guilty of these violations:
Violation Number Nature of Violation Violation Ended
1 (Standard condition 7) Use of controlled substance 11/17/2016
2 (Preamble) New crime 11/18/2016
The defendant is sentenced as provided in pages 2 through 5 of this judgment. The sentence is imposed pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.
[] The defendant has not violated condition(s) and is discharged as to such violation(s) condition.
It is ordered that the defendant must notify the United States attorney for this district within 30 days of any change of name, residence, or mailing address until all fines, restitution, costs, and special assessments imposed by this judgment are fully paid. If ordered to pay restitution, the defendant must notify the court and United States attorney of material changes in economic circumstances.
Last Four Digits of Defendant's Soc. Sec. No.: 5240 ______________________________________________________________________
Date of Imposition of Judgment
Defendant's Year of Birth: 1980
______________________________________________________________________
City and State of Defendant's Residence: Signature of Judge
Helena, MT
_______________________________________________ Charles C. Lovell Senior United States District Judge
Name and Title of Judge
______________________________________________________________________
Date
IMPRISONMENT
The defendant is hereby committed to the custody of the ____________ Bureau of Prisons to be imprisoned for a total term of: 7 Months
[] The court makes the following recommendations to the Bureau of Prisons:
[] The defendant is remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal.
[] The defendant shall surrender to the United States Marshal for this district:
[] at ________________________________ [] a.m. [] p.m. on ________________________________.
[] as notified by the United States Marshal.
[] The defendant shall surrender for service of sentence at the institution designated by the Bureau of Prisons:
[] before 2 p.m. on ________________________________.
[] as notified by the United States Marshal.
[] as notified by the Probation or Pretrial Services Office.
RETURN
I have executed this judgment as follows:
Defendant delivered on ________________________________ to ________________________________ at ________________________________ with a certified copy of this judgment.
___________________________________
UNITED STATES MARSHAL
By __________________________________
DEPUTY UNITED STATES MARSHAL
SUPERVISED RELEASE
Upon release from imprisonment, you will be on supervised release for a term of: 53 months
MANDATORY CONDITIONS
1. You must not commit another federal, state or local crime.
2. You must not unlawfully possess a controlled substance.
3. You must refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance. You must submit to one drug test within 15 days of release from imprisonment and at least two periodic drug tests thereafter, as determined by the court.
[] The above drug testing condition is suspended, based on the court's determination that you pose a low risk of future substance abuse. (check if applicable)
4. [✓] You must cooperate in the collection of DNA as directed by the probation officer. (check if applicable)
5. [] You must comply with the requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (42 U.S.C. § 16901, et seq.) as directed by the probation officer, the Bureau of Prisons, or any state sex offender registration agency in the location where you reside, work, are a student, or were convicted of a qualifying offense. (check if applicable)
6. [] You must participate in an approved program for domestic violence. (check if applicable)
You must comply with the standard conditions that have been adopted by this court as well as with any other conditions on the attached page.
STANDARD CONDITIONS OF SUPERVISION
As part of your supervised release, you must comply with the following standard conditions of supervision. These conditions are imposed because they establish the basic expectations for your behavior while on supervision and identify the minimum tools needed by probation officers to keep informed, report to the court about, and bring about improvements in your conduct and condition.
1. You must report to the probation office in the federal judicial district where you are authorized to reside within 72 hours of your release from imprisonment, unless the probation officer instructs you to report to a different probation office or within a different time frame.
2. After initially reporting to the probation office, you will receive instructions from the court or the probation officer about how and when you must report to the probation officer, and you must report to the probation officer as instructed.
3. You must not knowingly leave the federal judicial district where you are authorized to reside without first getting permission from the court or the probation officer.
4. You must answer truthfully the questions asked by your probation officer.
5. You must live at a place approved by the probation officer. If you plan to change where you live or anything about your living arrangements (such as the people you live with), you must notify the probation officer at least 10 days before the change. If notifying the probation officer in advance is not possible due to unanticipated circumstances, you must notify the probation officer within 72 hours of becoming aware of a change or expected change.
6. You must allow the probation officer to visit you at any time at your home or elsewhere, and you must permit the probation officer to take any items prohibited by the conditions of your supervision that he or she observes in plain view.
7. You must work full time (at least 30 hours per week) at a lawful type of employment, unless the probation officer excuses you from doing so. If you do not have full-time employment you must try to find full-time employment, unless the probation officer excuses you from doing so. If you plan to change where you work or anything about your work (such as your position or your job responsibilities), you must notify the probation officer at least 10 days before the change. If notifying the probation officer at least 10 days in advance is not possible due to unanticipated circumstances, you must notify the probation officer within 72 hours of becoming aware of a change or expected change.
8. You must not communicate or interact with someone you know is engaged in criminal activity. If you know someone has been convicted of a felony, you must not knowingly communicate or interact with that person without first getting the permission of the probation officer.
9. If you are arrested or questioned by a law enforcement officer, you must notify the probation officer within 72 hours.
10. You must not own, possess, or have access to a firearm, ammunition, destructive device, or dangerous weapon (i.e., anything that was designed, or was modified for, the specific purpose of causing bodily injury or death to another person such as nunchakus or tasers).
11. You must not act or make any agreement with a law enforcement agency to act as a confidential human source or informant without first getting the permission of the court.
12. If the probation officer determines that you pose a risk to another person (including an organization), the probation officer may require you to notify the person about the risk and you must comply with that instruction. The probation officer may contact the person and confirm that you have notified the person about the risk.
13. You must follow the instructions of the probation officer related to the conditions of supervision.
U.S. Probation Office Use Only
A U.S. probation officer has instructed me on the conditions specified by the court and has provided me with a written copy of this judgment containing these conditions. For further information regarding these conditions, see Overview of Probation and Supervised Release Conditions, available at: www.uscourts.gov.
Defendant's Signature ___________________________________ Date ___________________________________
SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF SUPERVISION
1. The defendant shall participate in and complete a program of substance abuse treatment as approved by the United States Probation Office, until the defendant is released from the program by the probation officer. The defendant is to pay part or all of the cost of this treatment, as directed by the United States Probation Office.
2. The defendant shall participate in and complete programs for mental health and/or substance abuse treatment as approved by the United States Probation Office until the defendant is released from the program by the probation officer. The defendant is to pay all or part of the costs of treatment as directed by the United States Probation Office.
3. The defendant shall participate in substance abuse testing to include not more than 365 urinalysis tests, not more than 365 breathalyzer tests, and not more than 36 sweat patch tests annually during the period of supervision. The defendant shall pay all or part of the costs of testing as directed by the United States Probation Office.
4. The defendant shall not possess or ingest alcohol and shall not enter establishments where alcohol is sold on a retail basis for consumption on the premises.
