No Error for District Court to State Sentence It Would Impose Prior to Defense Argument

US v. Covington: Covington walked away from a halfway house while finishing a prior federal sentence. He was apprehended after a chase in which he “caused a three-car accident, jumped out of the car, and tried to forcefully steal two occupied cars in separate fast-food restraint drive-thru lanes.” Pleading guilty to escape, his Guideline range was 30 to 37 months in prison. not including a reduction for having escaped from a halfway house because of the offenses committed during his capture. At sentencing, Covington first had a “colloquy between himself and the district court” in which he admitted “he was too intoxicated to really recall what happened,” that he had “struggled with alcohol addiction” (his prior conviction was for robbing a liquor store). After the district court “suggested the Covington himself was to blame for not seeking treatment for his alcohol addition,” it then “questioned the low guideline range given the severity of Covington’s conduct” and stated that “the minimum sentence you’re going to get is 60 months,” the statutory maximum. It was only after that point that Covington’s counsel made an argument for a lower sentence (and a lower Guideline range). True to its word, the district court imposed a sentence of 60 months.

On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Covington’s sentence, against three challenges. Primarily, Covington argued that the district court had plainly erred by discussing the sentence it was going to impose before all argument had been presented. The court disagreed, concluding that the district court’s pronouncement did not amount to “imposing” a sentence. In addition, a “judge may stop short of formal imposition and discuss an intended sentence at any point in the proceeding,” with the court noting that “a defense attorney’s right to be heard can have the most value when she knows what the judge is contemplating.” In addition it was “simply untrue that the district court did not consider Covington’s arguments,” noting that said arguments had been made in advance of sentencing. The court also concluded that the district court’s explanation of its sentence showed that it considered Covington’s alcoholism and that it correctly denied the reduction for escaping from a halfway house.