Due Process Violation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Randy Williams

Case No.: 18-3318

Officials: ROVNER, BRENNAN, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Due Process Violation

On July 28, 2016, two men entered a Sprint store with a gun, threatened and zip‐tied all witnesses, grabbed some merchandise, and fled the store in two vehicles. Randy Williams was one of the getaway drivers. He was caught and indicted for obstruction of commerce by robbery under 18 U.S.C. § 1951.

Williams pleaded not guilty. Judge Colin S. Bruce presided over his jury trial, and, on June 14, 2018, the jury found Williams guilty. A few months later, it became public that Judge Bruce had engaged in ex parte communications with members of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois (the “Office”). As a result, all criminal cases assigned to Judge Bruce were reassigned to other judges. Williams’s case was reassigned to now Chief Judge Darrow who presided over his sentencing hearing and sentenced him to 180 months’ imprisonment.

Williams now appeals his conviction and sentence. He argues that Judge Bruce’s ex parte communications with the Office violated his due process rights and the federal recusal statute, warranting a new trial. We conclude that Judge Bruce did not violate Williams’s due process rights on the facts before us. And although Judge Bruce’s conduct created an appearance of impropriety violating the federal recusal statute, there is no evidence of actual bias in this case to justify a new trial.

As to his sentence, Williams contends that he is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because Chief Judge Darrow improperly found that he was a career offender and was subject to a firearm enhancement. Williams does not qualify as a career offender, but the district court’s finding otherwise was not plain error. Chief Judge Darrow thoroughly considered the § 3553(a) factors, made clear that she would impose the same sentence even if the career offender provision did not apply, and explained her reasons for this position. Because there was sufficient evidence regarding the use of a firearm during the crime, we also hold that the district court did not err in applying a firearm enhancement. We affirm his conviction and sentence. We also grant Williams’s unopposed motion to supplement the record on appeal.

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.