Sentencing Guidelines

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Maurice Walker

Case No.: 18-2825

Officials: RIPPLE, MANION, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sentencing Guidelines

A grand jury indicted Maurice Walker on one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). During his detention awaiting trial, the Government discovered that Mr. Walker, his associates, and a family member had bribed multiple witnesses to testify falsely on his behalf at his upcoming trial. The grand jury therefore returned a superseding indictment, which added one count charging Mr. Walker with conspiring to obstruct justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(k). He subsequently pleaded guilty to both counts of the superseding indictment. The district court imposed sentences of 80 months’ imprisonment for each count, to be served concurrently, and to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. The district court recommended to the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) that Mr. Walker should not receive credit for time served prior to June 29, 2017, the date the superseding indictment was filed, because of his conduct leading to the addition of the obstruction of justice charge.

Mr. Walker now contends that the district court improperly left to the BOP the calculation of credit for his time served before trial. He also submits that he should receive credit for all the time he spent in custody between his arrest and the superseding indictment. For the reasons set forth in more detail in this opinion, we cannot accept these contentions; they are controlled by settled law. Congress has committed the responsibility for the calculation of credit for pretrial confinement to the BOP. The district court therefore lacked the authority to make such a determination. The court does have, however, the discretion to make a recommendation to the BOP as to whether pretrial credit is appropriate. The district court therefore acted well within its discretion when it made such a recommendation. We therefore affirm its judgment.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.