Lackawanna County District Attorney v. Coss, 532 U.S. 394, 14 (2001)

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Cite as: 532 U. S. 394 (2001)

Opinion of O'Connor, J.

presentence report's calculation of his prior record score. The court sustained that objection and, in effect, eliminated Coss' 1986 convictions from the prior record score entirely. Because the prior record score is one of two determinants of the applicable sentencing range, see 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 9721 (1998) (reproducing 204 Pa. Code § 303.9(a) (1998)), it is clear that Coss' 1986 convictions had no role in determining the range of sentences to which Coss was exposed.

In choosing a sentence for Coss within that range, the trial court considered several factors, including "the seriousness and nature of the crime involved here, the well being and protection of the people who live in our community, your criminal disposition, your prior criminal record, the possibility of your rehabilitation, and the testimony that I've heard." Record Doc. No. 101 (Pl. Exh. 3, at 26). Coss' 1986 convictions are, of course, a portion of his criminal record. Thus, it is technically correct to say that the court "considered" those convictions before sentencing Coss. Cf. 204 F. 3d, at 459.

But it is a different thing entirely to say that the 1986 convictions actually increased the length of the sentence the court ultimately imposed. As the sentencing court told Coss, "I think that it's indicative that from your actions that you will continue to break the law unless given a period of incarceration." Record Doc. No. 101 (Pl. Exh. 3, at 26). The "actions" to which the judge referred were obviously not limited to Coss' criminal conduct in 1986, but Coss' extensive and violent criminal record as a whole. We conclude, as Judge Nygaard did below, that the 1986 convictions are "such a minor component of [Coss'] record that there is no question that the sentencing court, given its concerns, would have imposed exactly the same sentence" had those convictions been omitted from Coss' record. 204 F. 3d, at 468 (dissenting opinion).

We note that the record does not explain why Coss' ineffective assistance claim did not receive a timely adjudication

407

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