Paul Manafort seemingly poised to get "senior discount" at upcoming sentencing

This new NBC News piece, headlined "Paul Manafort's health and age could help shorten his sentence," reports on the notable recent court appearance of a former presidential campaign manager and highlights how it could impact his upcoming sentencing. The piece is authored by Danny Cevallos, an MSNBC legal analyst, and here are excerpts:

Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort appeared in a Virginia federal court Friday in a wheelchair, missing his right shoe, and appearing visibly grayer.  His legal team advised Judge T.S. Ellis that Manafort was dealing with “significant” health issues related to his confinement, and asked the court to expedite his sentencing so that he could be transferred to a facility better equipped to take care of him.

There’s no question that incarceration has negative health effects.  It’s also likely part of a wise strategy for Manafort’s defense team to make these health issues known to the judge well in advance of the sentencing hearing.  Manafort’s age and infirmity can bolster a defense argument to the judge for a significant reduction in his sentence.

Federal judges are permitted to consider a defendant’s advanced age and health issues in order to impose fair punishment and provide essential medical care.  Following an amendment to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in 2010, the defendant’s age and physical condition, including his physique, may be relevant in reducing a sentence.  However, this is only if the condition is unusual and distinguishable from other cases.  An extraordinary physical impairment or a seriously infirm defendant can justify granting home detention as a less costly option than imprisonment.  The guidelines permit the court to consider alternative forms of incarceration for such an offender if those alternatives are “equally efficient” as prison.

It’s not clear what health condition confined Manafort to a wheelchair with only one shoe on Friday.  The court may consider a defendant’s need for medical care when fashioning a sentence.  Courts have considered a variety of conditions during sentencing that can affect the feet, including diabetes, and gout.  Still, Manafort’s defense team should be prepared to show that these ailments are extraordinary, and they cannot be treated adequately by the Bureau of Prisons.

The Department of Justice has recognized that the aging process accelerates for prisoners.  Elderly prisoners such as Manafort are more vulnerable to predators. They require special physical accommodations in a place that is not designed for special accommodation.  According to the DOJ, the annual cost of incarcerating elderly prisoners has risen to an average of $60,000 to $70,000 for each elderly inmate compared with about $27,000 for others in the general population....

Elderly defendants are substantially less likely than younger offenders to commit new crimes after they are released.  The U.S. Sentencing Commission reported that over an eight-year period, only 13.4 percent of offenders age 65 or older were rearrested compared to 67.6 percent of offenders younger than age 21 when they were released.  Of course, expect the prosecutors to point out that after he was originally charged and out on release, Manafort committed new obstruction crimes by trying to influence witnesses. The government will surely counter that Manafort is one of those rare older offenders who is likely to commit new crimes — because he already did.

I am pleased this piece highlights the (too-often-ignored) 2010 revisions to the USSG policy statements concerning age and physical impairments as a possible relevant basis for a departure from the applicable guidelines.  But, as federal practitioners know, the guideline policy statements about departures are often ignored because judges have broad general authority to vary based on statutory 3553(a) factors regardless of what the guidelines say.  And, not to be forgotten, as reported in this prior post, Manafort's plea agreement caps his sentencing exposure at 10 years, but includes a calculation of his estimated "Sentencing Guidelines range [at] 210 months to 262 months' imprisonment."

Some prior related posts:

• Appreciating ugly sentencing realities facing Paul Manafort and Rick Gates after federal indictment 
• Paul Manafort has bail revoked ... and has not (yet) gotten rescued from jail by Prez Trump's clemency pen
• Paul Manafort found guilty of 8 of 18 counts ... and now faces real possibility of spending many years in federal prison
• Reported sentencing details in Paul Manafort's plea deal to wrap up his various federal prosecutions
• Paul Manafort's DC plea agreement has a calculated guideline range of 17.5 to 22 years (though he can only get 10)