In U.S. v. Scott, No. 05-13276 (May 8, 2006), the Court (Anderson, Fay & Siler b.d.) held that the sentencing court erroneously added one criminal history point under USSG § 4A1.1(e) to Scott’s criminal history. This Guideline provides for a one-point offense level enhancement if the defendant committed the offense (in this case, illegal reentry) less than than two years after release from a sentence. The district court found that Scott illegally rentered the U.S. while he was serving a 180-day State sentence for probation violation.
Reversing, the Court found that Scott was "found" in the U.S., i.e., violated the illegal reentry statute, at the time he was initially interviewed by federal authorities. This interview occurred before his incarceration on State charges. At that timehe was not yet under a sentence of imprisonment. Therefore, the § 4A1.1(e) enhancement was inapplicable.
