United States of America v. Cledale Caldwell

Kansas City, Kansas, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with failing to register as a sex as offender as required in the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act ("SORNA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2250(a). <br>
<br>
He admitted that after he relocated from Kansas to Oklahoma, he failed to update his registration between<br>
May 4, 2020, and June 6, 2021.<br>
<br>
During this time period, Mr. Caldwell also committed two state crimes in Oklahoma:<br>
<br>
(1) On May 22, 2020, he was arrested for obstructing an<br>
officer and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.<br>
He was convicted and sentenced on August 11, 2020, to<br>
12 months in jail, with a suspended sentence.<br>
<br>
(2) On March 18, 2021, he was arrested for obstructing an<br>
officer and unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous<br>
substance. He was convicted and sentenced on March 19,<br>
2021, to six months in jail.<br>
<br>
Mr. Caldwell's presentence investigation report ("PSR”) on the SORNA<br>
offense recommended treating each Oklahoma sentence as part of his criminal<br>
history. It assessed one criminal history point for his 2020 sentence, two points for<br>
his 2021 sentence, and one more point because Mr. Caldwell committed the SORNA<br>
offense while subject to the 2020 sentence and had seven or more points.<br>
See U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1(e). His total of 11 criminal history points put him in criminal<br>
history category V, which, combined with his total offense level of 10, yielded a<br>
Guidelines range of 21 to 27 months.<br>
<br>
Mr. Caldwell objected to counting his Oklahoma sentences as criminal history,<br>
arguing they should instead have been considered as relevant conduct that occurred<br>
during the commission of his SORNA offense. Doing so, he argued, would have left<br>
him with seven criminal history points, a category IV criminal history, and a<br>
Guidelines range of 15 to 21 months.

Affirmed