United States v. Hertler, No. 13-30273 (9th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed a postrevocation sentence of twenty months of supervised release, arguing that the new term exceeds the maximum period that can be imposed under 18 U.S.C. 3583(h). Section 3583(h) authorizes a district court to impose a postrevocation term of supervised release up to the statutory maximum, but requires the court to reduce the length of supervised release by "any term of imprisonment that was imposed upon revocation of supervised release." The court held that the text of section 3583(h) and the structure of section 3583 support the government's argument that "any term of imprisonment" means any "terms of imprisonment imposed with respect to the same underlying offense." The court rejected defendant's rule of lenity of argument, concluding that there is no "grievous ambiguity," and no "reasonable doubt persists" regarding the court's construction. Accordingly, the court affirmed the postrevocation sentence.
Court Description: Criminal Law. Affirming a postrevocation term of supervised release, the panel held that the phrase “any term of imprisonment” in 18 U.S.C. § 3583(h), which authorizes a district court to impose a postrevocation term of supervised release up to the statutory maximum less “any term of imprisonment that was imposed upon revocation of supervised release,” refers to terms of imprisonment imposed in connection with the offense of conviction for which an additional term of supervised release is imposed, not to terms of imprisonment imposed for all counts of conviction.
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