United States v. Hammond, No. 12-30337 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendants were convicted of maliciously damaging the real property of the United States by fire. On appeal, the government challenged defendants' sentences. Defendants, ranchers, set fires on their property that spread to nearby public lands. The court concluded that the government did not waive its right to appeal where the principles of governing the formation and interpretation of plea agreements left no room for implied waivers. The court held that the district court illegally sentenced defendants to terms of imprisonment less than the statutory minimum. Although the district court attempted to justify lesser sentences on Eighth Amendment grounds, sentencing defendants to five years of imprisonment, the statutory minimum, would not have been unconstitutional. Accordingly, the court vacated and remanded.
Court Description: Criminal Law. On appeals by the government, the panel vacated sentences for maliciously damaging the real property of the United States by fire, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(f)(1), and remanded for resentencing, in cases in which the defendants set fires on their ranch land that spread to public land. The panel rejected the defendants’ contention that the government waived its right to appeal the sentences in the plea agreements or otherwise failed to preserve its objection to the sentences. The panel explained that the principles governing the formation and interpretation of plea agreements leave no room for implied waivers. The panel held that the district court illegally sentenced the defendants to terms of imprisonment less than the statutory minimum. The panel observed that although the district court attempted to justify lesser sentences on Eighth Amendment grounds, sentencing the defendants to five years of imprisonment would not have been unconstitutional.
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