United States of America v. Juan A Payne

Holding: The Fifth Circuit affirmed the sentence, holding that a state expungement based on rehabilitation rather than innocence or legal error must be counted in the federal criminal history score under the Sentencing Guidelines.
Standard: Application Note 10 to U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2
Vote: Panel Decision
Practical effect: Federal sentencing courts must look beyond state statutory labels to determine the true basis of an expungement. Expungements granted for rehabilitation or civil rights restoration, rather than innocence, will generally be counted in federal criminal history scores.

The Fifth Circuit affirmed a federal sentence where the district court counted a state-expunged marijuana conviction toward the defendant's criminal history score. The court held that the expungement did not qualify for exclusion under the Sentencing Guidelines because it was not based on innocence or legal error.

Background

Juan Payne pleaded guilty to selling methamphetamine while a state court expunged his prior 2006 marijuana conviction. The district court counted the expunged conviction in his criminal history score, resulting in a Guidelines range of 262 to 327 months, though it ultimately varied downward to 180 months.

The court’s reasoning

The Fifth Circuit applied Application Note 10 to Section 4A1.2 of the Sentencing Guidelines, which dictates that expunged convictions are not counted only if set aside for reasons unrelated to innocence or errors of law. The court found that the Mississippi statute under which Payne obtained his expungement was designed to restore civil rights and remove stigma, not to declare innocence or correct legal error. Consequently, the conviction must be counted for federal sentencing purposes. The court further held that any error in the calculation was harmless because the district court considered both the higher and lower Guidelines ranges and stated twice that it would have imposed the same 180-month sentence regardless.

The dispositive question is whether the expungement was obtained due to innocence or errors of law. If not, the expunged conviction must be counted for purposes of federal sentencing.

United States v. Payne, 24-60583 (5th Cir. July 10, 2026)

What it means going forward

Federal sentencing courts must look beyond state statutory labels to determine the true basis of an expungement. Expungements granted for rehabilitation or civil rights restoration, rather than innocence, will generally be counted in federal criminal history scores.