Pleas & Sentencing – Court Error

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Criminal

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: BAUER, KANNE, and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

Pleas & Sentencing – Court Error

No. 14-2519 United States of America v. Martise Chatman

Court imposition of second evaluation in written conditions contrary to oral requirement of one was harmless error.

“Chatman also notes that the district court only required one mental health evaluation at the oral pronouncement, but required two evaluations in the written conditions. Specifically, the district court required the additional mental health evaluation while Chatman was in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons. This is a contradiction, which the government itself acknowledges. Because the written condition contradicts an unambiguous oral condition, the oral condition controls. Kappes, 782 F.3d at 862.Thus, the district court’s unpronounced written condition for a second mental evaluation was in error. However, requiring this second evaluation is harmless error that does not necessitate remand. See id. at 854 (describing district court’s error as “harmless” where defendant argued that condition was “redundant” given other conditions imposed). Instead we simply modify the district court’s order by removing the requirement for a mental health evaluation of Chatman while in the Bureau of Prisons. See United States v. Boyd, 608 F.3d 331, 335 (7th Cir. 2010); United States v. Munoz, 610 F.3d 989, 997 (7th Cir. 2010).”

Affirmed as Modified

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