Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-03-03784/USCOURTS-ca8-03-03784-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Ha T. T. Nguyen
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

*

The Honorable Richard G. Kopf, Chief Judge, United States District Court for

the District of Nebraska.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 03-3784

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the District

v. * of Nebraska.

*

Ha T. T. Nguyen, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: August 20, 2004

Filed: August 27, 2004

___________

Before SMITH, FAGG, and HANSEN, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Ha T. T. Nguyen appeals the sentence the district court*

 imposed after Nguyen

pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50

grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine

base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and a related forfeiture count. At sentencing,

the district court admitted into evidence over Nguyen’s objection the certified state

records of three earlier uncounseled misdemeanor convictions, and the transcripts of

the testimony of two witnesses who testified at the trial of co-defendant Adil Gasim

Appellate Case: 03-3784 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/27/2004 Entry ID: 1804126 
-2-

Al-Dabbi. Based on these exhibits, the court applied 3 criminal history points to

Nguyen and imposed a 3-level role enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b). We

affirm. 

On appeal, Nguyen contends the district court abused its discretion by

admitting into evidence and relying on the certified state records of conviction, and

alternatively the court erroneously assigned criminal history points for uncounseled

misdemeanor convictions. We find the court did not abuse its discretion by admitting

the records, see United States v. Abanatha, 999 F.2d 1246, 1250-51 (8th Cir. 1993),

cert. denied, 511 U.S. 1035 (1994), or by deciding Nguyen was the individual

convicted of the earlier crimes, as her first and last names were present on each record

and she never denied she was the person convicted of the crimes, cf. United States v.

Roach, 164 F.3d 403, 414 (8th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 845 (1999). We also

find the court properly assigned criminal history points for Nguyen’s earlier

uncounseled misdemeanor convictions. See U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2, comment. (backg’d.).

Nguyen also contends the district court committed clear error in imposing the

role enhancement under section 3B1.1(b). We find the court did not commit error

because the transcribed witness testimony revealed that at least five individuals

participated in the conspiracy, Nguyen played a significant role in the drug

transactions, and at least one of the participants in the conspiracy was Nguyen’s

subordinate. See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b); United States v. Francis, 367 F.3d 805, 824-25

(8th Cir. 2004); United States v. Zimmer, 299 F.3d 710, 723 (8th Cir. 2002), cert.

denied, 537 U.S. 1146 (2003). 

We affirm the judgment of the district court. 

______________________________

Appellate Case: 03-3784 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/27/2004 Entry ID: 1804126