Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-05-03053/USCOURTS-ca8-05-03053-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Juan Rene Sainz-Ortega
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

1

The Honorable James M. Rosenbaum, Chief Judge, United States District

Court for the District of Minnesota.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 05-3053

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* District of Minnesota.

Juan Rene Sainz-Ortega, *

* [UNPUBLISHED]

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: July 20, 2006

Filed: August 4, 2006 

___________

Before MURPHY, BYE, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

A jury found Juan Rene Sainz-Ortega guilty of three drug offenses and of

failing to appear for trial. The district court1

 sentenced him to a total of 246 months

in prison and 10 years of supervised release. On appeal, Sainz-Ortega argues that the

district court erred by denying him safety-valve relief.

We conclude that the district court did not clearly err in denying safety-valve

relief. See United States v. White, 447 F.3d 1029, 1032 (8th Cir. 2006) (standard of

Appellate Case: 05-3053 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/04/2006 Entry ID: 2074857
-2-

review). The question was whether Sainz-Ortega’s prior drug conviction was related

to his instant drug convictions as relevant conduct within the meaning of U.S.S.G.

§§ 1B1.3, 4A1.1, and 4A1.2. The answer to that question turned on a credibility

determination by the district court regarding Sainz-Ortega’s testimony at the

sentencing hearing about his prior drug conviction. The district court’s decision not

to believe Sainz-Ortega’s testimony is virtually unreviewable on appeal, and we have

no cause to disturb it in the circumstances presented here. See Anderson v. City of

Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 575 (1985).

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

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Appellate Case: 05-3053 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/04/2006 Entry ID: 2074857