UNITED STATES of Am., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Suzanne FORBES, Defendant-Appellant, 172 F.3d 675 (9th Cir. 1999). · Go Syfert
UNITED STATES of Am., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Suzanne FORBES, Defendant-Appellant, 172 F.3d 675 (9th Cir. 1999). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
30 citation events (30 in the last 25 years) across 4 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: United States v. James Little (cadc, 2023-08-18)
Treatment trajectory · 2008 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
2008 2017 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 15 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) United States v. James Little
D.C. Cir. · 2023 · signal: see · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
a straight sentence of six months is not the intermittent incarceration that this statute permits
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) United States v. James Little
D.C. Cir. · 2023 · signal: see · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
a straight sentence of six months is not the intermittent incarceration that this statute permits
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Spellman CA5
Cal. Ct. App. · 2026 · confidence medium
(See, e.g., U.S. v. Forbes (9th Cir. 1999) 172 F.3d 675, 676 [holding that “[t]he statute [ 18 U.S.C. § 3561 , subdivision (a)(3)] precludes the imposition of both probation and straight imprisonment.”] We presume then, that the probation officer’s reference to violation of federal probation was a violation of his supervised release, which may be combined with a term of imprisonment.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Sarko
D.D.C. · 2022 · confidence medium
United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir. 1999); see United States v. Martin, 363 F.3d 25, 35 (1st Cir. 2004) (same); United States v. Harris, 611 F. App’x 480, 481 (9th Cir. 2015) (time spent in pretrial detention is not imprisonment and thus, it did not cause defendant’s sentence of five years of probation to “run afoul” of Section 3561(a)(3)’s prohibition against sentencing a defendant to both probation and imprisonment); United States v. Anderson, 787 F. Supp. 537, 539 (D.
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Kenneth Medenbach
9th Cir. · 2018 · confidence medium
United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir. 1999).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Marcus Andrews
9th Cir. · 2017 · confidence medium
As we have clearly held, and as the government concedes, the probation statute “precludes the imposition of both probation and straight imprisonment.” United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir. 1999) (citing 18 U.S.C. § 3561 ).
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Ramon Andrade-Castillo (4×)
9th Cir. · 2015 · confidence medium
United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir. 1999).
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Fidel Castro-Verdugo (4×)
9th Cir. · 2014 · confidence medium
United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir. 1999).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Murillo
9th Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir.1999).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Murillo
9th Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir. 1999).
cited Cited "see" United States v. Ramon Andrade-Castillo
9th Cir. · 2014 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir.1999) (“The statute precludes the imposition of both probation and straight imprisonment.”).
cited Cited "see" United States v. Daniel William
9th Cir. · 2012 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir.1999). 3.
cited Cited "see" United States v. Daniel William
9th Cir. · 2012 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir.1999). 3.
cited Cited "see" United States v. Esparza-Gutierrez
9th Cir. · 2008 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 675 (9th Cir.1999).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." United States v. Panayiotou
D.D.C. · 2023 · signal: see, e.g. · confidence medium
See, e.g., United States v. Forbes, 172 F.3d 675, 676 (9th Cir. 1999) (rejecting a sentence of six months’ imprisonment imposed continuously, rather than intermittently, as a condition of probation).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 2366, 1999 Daily Journal D.A.R. 3139 United States of America
v.
Suzanne Forbes
98-10259.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Apr 1, 1999.
172 F.3d 675
Mary M. French, David M. Porter, Assistant Federal Public Defenders, Sacramento, California, for the defendant-appellant., Benjamin B. Wagner, Assistant United States Attorney, Sacramento, California, for the plaintiff-appellee.
Noonan, Tashima, Restani.
Cited by 18 opinions  |  Published
NOONAN, Circuit Judge:

Suzanne Forbes appeals the sentence imposed following her plea of guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 157. Forbes was sentenced to five years of probation with a special condition of six months imprison[*676] ment. Holding that straight prison time and probation are mutually exclusive , by statute, we' vacate the sentence and remand.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS .

Forbes was charged with eight counts of bankruptcy fraud, one count of fraudulent, transfer of property in contemplation of bankruptcy, and one count of false statement in relation to a bankruptcy case in connection with her efforts to delay foreclosure on her home. On March 23, 1998 she entered a plea agreement by which nine of the counts were dismissed and she pleaded guilty to a single count of bankruptcy fraud committed in 1995. The government agreed to recommend a sentence of five months in prison and five months in community confinement; the defendant agreed not to seek a sentence of less than ten months in community confinement.

The Presentence Report noted the defendant’s “severe psychological problems”; her residence, since August 1997, in a care home approved for referrals from the Santa Cruz County Mental Health Department; letters from two employees of a county agency noting “a remarkable transformation in the defendant’s life” since 1996; and the evaluation of a treating psychiatrist that Forbes was “successfully involved in treatment.” The probation officer recommended “continued community supervision, uninterrupted by a term of imprisonment.”

The district court imposed restitution of $5,000 and probation of five years, adding under the heading “Special Conditions Of Supervision” that Forbes should remain for six months in the custody, of the Bureau of Prisons. The court recommended the prison facility at Dublin, California as one having facilities for appropriate medical and psychological treatment.

Forbes appeals.

ANALYSIS

18 U.S.C. § 3561 is headed “Sentence of probation” and provides for such a sentence “unless .... the defendant is sentenced at the same time to a term of imprisonment for the same or a different offense that is not a petty offense.” Id. at. (a)(3). The statute precludes the imposition of both probation and straight imprisonment. Forbes’s objection to the sentence was unclear, but the error is plain and meets the criteria of United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993).

The government points to 18 U.S.C. § 3563(b), which does permit as a condition of probation a sentence to, the custody of the Bureau of Prisons “during nights, weekends, or other intervals of time, totaling no more than the lesser of one year or the term' of imprisonment authorized for the offense....” No doubt Forbes could have been imprisoned nights or weekends but a straight sentence of six months is not the intermittent incarceration that this statute permits.

At resentencing the court will have the opportunity to reassess the psychological condition and progress of the defendant.

The sentence is VACATED; the case is REMANDED.