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# U n ited S ta tes Co urt o f Ap p ea ls

F o rth eS e v e n th C ir cu it

N o. 08

- 3891 U NI T ED S TATE SOF A MERI CA, P la intif f-A pp ellee, v . S T EV EN W ILBO RN , D e f e ndan t

-Appe l l ant
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A pp eal from the United S t ates Di strictC our t fo r the N o rthernDi stricto f Illino is, Eas tern Di v isi on. No . 06 C R 951-1

—MatthewF. Kenn ell y,Ju dge

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A RG UE D J UNE 3, 2009

— D ECI DE D A UGUS T 10, 2009

Befo re E A S T E RB R OO K, Chie f Judg e, a nd R OV NERa nd S YKES, C ircu it Judges . R OV NER, Cir cu i tJudg e . St even W i lbor n ple d gui l ty to th re e c ou n ts ofp o s s e ss ion of a fire ar m by a felo n, i n vi ol ati on o f18 U
. S. C. §922 ( g) ( 1) , and f ou r c ounts ofdi st r ib ut i ng a c o nt r o l l e d s ub s t a nc e , i n v i o l a t i o n o f2 1 U. S

. C. § 841(a)(1). A fter a s e nt en cing h earing, the d istri ct cou rt deter m i ned that the s ubstance W i lbor n dis tr ibuted w as cr ac k co ca i ne , as o ppo se d to so m e o th er f o r m o fcoca i ne b a s e . Wi lb o r n d i s p u t e s th a tfi n d i n g, a n d w e a f fi r m.2 N o. 08

- 3891

W i l bor n r ai s es no i s s ues on appea l w ith r es pec tt o the 1 firearm s-related con v iction s. I. On f o ur o c c a s i o ns i n 2 0 0 6 , W i lb o r n s o l d c o c a i ne to a co nfi den ti ali nf o r m an t. Each t i m e, l aw e nf o r ce m en t 1 ag en ts eq u ip p ed th e c on fid en tia l inf o r m an t w ith au d io an d v i d e o r e c o r d i n gd e v i c e s a n d f o l l o we d th e i n f o r m an t t o Wi lb o r n ’ s h o me . OnAu g u s t3 0 , Wi lb o r n s o l d 2 6

. 2 g r a ms of c o c a in e t o t h e in for m an t. O n A u gu st 31 , he so ld 26.6 gram s, an d referred to th e sub stan ce as “glass,” a term r e l a t i ngt o the qua l i t y o r p ur i t y o fthe drug bei ngs o l d. H e t old th e in f o r m a n t h e a n d h is c ou sin h ad co ok ed it th em selves. O n Septe m ber 13, W ilborn sold to th e in forma n t 2 6

. 8 g r a ms o f c o c a i n e a n d a . 3 8 0 c a l ib e r p i s t o l

. On N o ve m be r 1 , W i lbo r n s o l d 6 9. 8 grams o fc o ca i ne t o the in for m an t, re fer rin g a ga in to th e s u b st an c e a s “ gla ss. ” Afte r the Novem ber1 tr ansact i on, l aw enfor cem ent a gents ar re st ed W ilbo rn , sea rc h ed h is h o m e, an d fou n d ad d itio n al c oc ain e, p ac ka ge d in e igh t sm all Z ip loc -st yle p las tic bags

. W ilborn do es no t di spu te tha t th e su bs ta nc e ati ss ue i s s om e f or m o fco cai ne bas e, cl ai m i ng o nl y that i t is not c ra c k coc ain e. C ra c k d ea ler s are su b j ec t to s u b st an tia lly hars her sente nces than se l l er s o fpow der c oca in e. S ee 21 U .S.C

. § 8 41 (b )(1) (A )(iii); U .S.S.G . § 2D 1.1 (c ); U nited Sta tes v. St ephe ns on , 557 F. 3d 449, 452 ( 7th Ci r. 20 09) ( noti ng tha t, al though r ecentco ngre ssi onaland j ud i ci al act i ons have l owered s om e o fthe sente nces f ordeal i ng cr ack coca i ne, cra ck sente nces sti l l ar e s i gni fi cantl y higher than those f orN o. 08

- 3891 3
ot h er form s o f co c ain e); U nited St at e s v. Edward s , 39 7 F.3d 570 , 571 (7th C ir. 2 005) (noting th e ten -year statu tory m i ni m um se ntence tr i gge re d by di str ibut in g fi ve or m ore kil ogram s of p ow d er cocaine , or fi fty or m ore g r ams o fc r ac kc o ca i ne , a nd c i tingg ui del i ne s pr ovi si o ns th a t a pp l y ha r s he r t e r ms t o c r a c k t ha n t o po wder co

cai ne)

. The so l e i ssue on a pp eali s whether the di str i ct cour t cl ear ly erre d i n deter m i ni ng tha t the co ntro l l ed substa nce a t i ssue w as cra ck coca i ne. A t the se ntenci ng hea ri ng, the gov er nm ent pr ese nted tw o expertwitnesse s to testi fy t o the nature ofthe substa nces sei zed in t h e co ntro l l ed buys and fr om the subsequent s ear ch ofW i lbor n’s hom e. Gover nm ent Exhib i ts 9, 10, 11 , and 21 cor re sponded to the substa nces sol d to the confi denti al i nfo rm ant on A ugust 30, A ugust 31, Se ptem ber13 , a nd N ove m ber1, r espect i vel y. Exhibi t 1 7 co ns i s t e d o f t he s ub s t a nc e f o un d i n t he s e a rch of W i lbor n’s hom e f ol l owing hi s Novem ber1 arrest. F r ede r i ck a Laux , a s en i o r f o r en si c ch em ist fo r the Dr ug E nforcem en t A d m inistration, t e s t ified th at sh e pe rf or m ed s ev er al te sts o n the substa nces and determ i ned that each c ontai ned cocaine bas e i n var yi ng degr ees o f pu rity. E x h ibi ts 9, 10 , 11 and 21 ra nged i n puri ty f ro m 36 % t o 4 5%, mean i ngtha t be twe en3 6% a nd 4 5% o fthe to ta l wei g hto fthe s am pl e was c o ca i ne b as e, a nd the r em ai nd ero fea ch sam ple was com pr ise d o fo ther m ate ri al s. Exhibi t 1 7, the one f ound in the sea rch of4 N o. 08

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Laux t es t i fi ed that t he re was no t ypi c al l eve l ofpur i t y thats he 2 f ound i n cocai ne s am ples s he had teste d in her c areer . Rather pu ri ty v a ri ed w idely, and she had personall y se en s am ples as low as 3% pure and as high as 91% pure cocai ne base. W i lbo r n’ s ho m e, was 74. 2% pur e co cai ne b as e. The 2 m at er ials te st ed als o c on ta in ed so d iu m bic ar b on at e, a m ate ri al co m m on l y use d i n m anufa cturing cr ack coca i ne, and cutti ng ag ents, am ong othe r th in gs. Laux explai ned that she prese rv ed a sm al l sam ple of each exhibi t pr i or to tes ti ng be cause the te stingpro cess r equi re s herto g r i nd the mate r i ali n o r dert o ho m o g en i ze i t. The g r i ndi ng proce ss changes the appearance o fthe substa nce. A l l o f the s ubstance s t est ed appeare d ro ck- l i ke p ri orto te sti ng, in varying sh a d e s of w hite an d brow n. Du ring La ux ’s te st im on y, th e d ist ric t c ou rtj u d ge vie w ed th e s am p les in both thei r or i ginal f or m s a nd i n the f or m s i n w hi ch th eya p p ea r ed afte r g r i ndi ng . S o m e o fthe s ampl es c o nt a i n e d mo i s t u r e th a tw a s n o ti n i t i a l l y v i s ib l e b u tb e c a me apparent w hen the sam ple tur ned m ushy aftergr i nd i ng. Ch ri sto pher Labno, a Speci al A gent ofthe Bu re au of A lcohol, Tob acc o, Fi rearm s and Ex p losi ves ( “A T F”), tes ti fi ed that, bas ed on hi s e xtensi ve experi ence as an A T F agen t, th e sub stan ces seized from W ilborn w ere crac kc o ca i ne , a s o ppo se d t o s o m e o th erf o r m o fc o ca i ne b as e . A c c or d in g t o A ge n t L ab n o, “[c ]ra c k c oc ain e is a st r ee t sl an gt er m f o r the sm okabl e f o r m o fc o ca i ne base

. ” R. 86 , at55
. H e desc rib ed the ty pica l co l oro fcr ack as a r an g e o fs ha des fr o m o ff -w hite t o a da r ky el l o wi sh

bro w n, and t h e consi ste ncy a s r ock

- l i ke. H e a l so tes ti fi edN o. 08

- 3891 5 that, i n hi s e xtensi ve experi ence w ith n ar cot i cs, he ha d seen m any v ar i ati ons i n both col orand consi ste ncy, i ncl ud i ng cr ack th at w as sti l l m ushy o r m oi st because i t ha d no t ful l y dr i ed f o l l o wi ngthe co o k i ng pr o ce ss . Age nt Lab no ex pl ai ne d th ati t i s po ss ibl e to s m o k e cr ac kc o ca i ne th ati s st i l l moi st
. Acco r di ngt o Labn o , a l l o fthe c o ca i ne recove red from W ilborn w as con sisten t w ith t h e ap p earance o fcr ack coca i ne, i t was packa ged as crackwould be pack a g e d, a nd i t wa s pr i c e d a t mar k e t r a t e s f o r cr ack co ca i ne . M o r eo ve r, Age ntLabn o ha d t ak en a st at ement from W ilborn after his arr est, du ring w h ich W ilborn hi m sel fi denti fi ed the substa nces as cra ck coca i ne. Aft erhe ar i ngthi s te st i m o ny, pe r so na l l y e xa m i ni ng th e s am pl es , a nd he ar i ngthe a r g um en t o fc o uns el, the cour t r ule d that a l l o fthe substa n c es sei zed fro m W i lbor n w er e cr ack coca i ne. The co urt cor re ctl y no ted th e f a c t o r s t o c o n s i d e r i n e v a l u a t i n gc o c a i n e b a s e , i ncl ud i ng co l or, tex tu re , appeara nce, pri ci ng, packa gi ng, an d the l ab el s th atb uy er s an d s el l ers ap p ly t o i t. The cour t f ound that the o ri gi nal sa m ple s were h ard, ro cky substa nces that ra nged i n col orfrom w hi te to off

- w hi te. Aft erthe g r i ndi ngpr o ce ss , s o m e o fthe sa m pl es ha d the appe ar an ce o fwets an d o r c ho co l at e ch i p c o o k i e do ug h. R. 86 , a t 7 9
. Th e c o ur t f o un d t ha t a l l o f t he c o c a i ne bas e was p r i c e d a s c r a c k c o c a i n e , t h a t Wi lb o r n t h o u g h t he w as selli ng c r a c k, an d that his buy ers believed they w ere buy i ngc r ac k. M o r eo ve r, unr eb ut te d t es ti m o ny de m o nstr ate d that e ven m ois t c rack c oca i ne co uld s ti l lbe smok ed. R. 8 6, a t 78

- 79
. The cour t co nc l ude d tha t th e go ve rn m en t h ad p ro ve d by a p re p on d er an c e o f th e e viden ce tha t th e su bs ta nc es a t i ss ue wer e cr ac kc o ca i ne . The6 N o. 08

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W i l bor n a l s o r ec ei ved 1 20 m onth s en t en c es on e ac h o fthe 3 firearm s cou nts, also to ru n co nc u rren tly t o e a c h oth er an d to the senten ces for the d ru g cou nts. cour t s entence d W i lbor n to the l ow en d o f the gui del i nes ran g e, 1 21 months ’ i m pr i so nm en t o n e ac h o fthe dr ug cou nt s, w ith t h e sent en ces to ru n con cu rrently. W ilborn 3 appeal s.

II. On app eal, W i lbor n conce des that the co cai ne bas e f o und i n h i s ho m e, whi chwas l ab el ed Exhibi t 17dur i ng the s entenci n g hea ri ng, was adequatel y s how n to be c ra ck coca i ne be cause i t had the co l or, appeara nce, c om p os i ti on, co nsi ste ncy a nd puri ty ofcr ack coca i ne that Cong r e s s a nd t he S e nt e nc i ng Co mm i s s i o n i nt e nd e d t o tar get
. H e co ntends thatthe evid ence w as i nsuffi ci ent t o prove by a preponderance that the othe r substa nc es at i ssue w er e cr ack coca i ne. The di str i ct c ourt ’ s dete rm i nati on that the co cai ne bas e e xhibi ts w er e cr ack i s a fac tu al fin d in g t h at w e re vie w for c lea r er ro r. St ephe ns on , 55 7 F
. 3d at4 52
. W i lbo r n’ s m ai n c o m p lai nt i s th atthe c oc ain e b a s e h e s old w as n ot roc k-lik e, an d va rie d in col orbey ond w hat was ty pica l l y e xpected f orcr ack. Ra th er, th e s a mpl e s we r e d e s c r ib e d a s b e i n gth e c o nsi ste ncy o fm ashed pota toes, wet sand, and choco l ate ch i p c o o k i e do ug h a t va r i o us pa r ts o fthe he ar i ng . The col orr anged fro m the typi calo f f

- w hi te to a dar k y el l owish br o wn. M o r eo ve r, W i lbo r n c om p lai ns , the r e was no ev i den ce tha t th e con fi den ti ali nf o r m an t be l i ev ed he was b uy i ngc r ac kc o ca i ne . Norw as the r e an y t es ti m o nyN o. 08

- 3891 7 th at th e c oc ain e w as p a c k ag ed in t h e m an n er cr ac k is usual l y p ac ke d for s al e, i n the cor ners o fpl ast i c ba gs or i n sm al l pl ast i c ba gs. Fi nal l y, he a rg u es t h at the puri ty of al l o fthe sam ple s, exce pt f orExh ibit 17, was to o l ow fo r th e su bs ta nc e to be co ns i der ed cr ac k

. All i n all , he conte nds the evi den ce was i ns uffi ci en t to fi nd b y a pr epo nderance thatthe substa nce was cr ack. Ra th er th an appl y i nga r i g i d de fi ni ti o n t o the mean i ng o fc r a c k, whi c h i s a d mi t t e d l y n o ta s c i e n t i fi c t e r m, we ha ve hel d tha t a se nt en ci ngj udg e m us t det er m i ne w h et h er a su b st a n c e is cr ac k a s t h os e w h o b u y a n d se ll in the m ar ketwould und er sta nd thatte rm . Stephe ns on , 55 7 F.3 d at45 3. See a l s o Edwar ds , 39 7 F
. 3d at 574 ( noti ng tha t co ca i ne a nd c o ca i ne b as e ar e c he m i ca l l y i den ti ca l, a nd d e fi n i n g c r a c k a s “ t h e s t r e e t n a me f o r a f o r m o fc o ca i ne base , usual l y pr epare d by pro cess i ng co c ai ne hydro chl orid e a n d so d iu m bic ar b o n a te , an d u su ally ap p ea rin g in a l u mp y, r o c k

- l i k e f o r m. ” ) ; U
. S

. S

. G

. § 2 D 1

. 1 , N o t e D
. We con side r a vari ety of f ac t o r s i n d eterm ining w he th er a par ti cul ars ampl e o f co ca i ne b as e i s cr ac ki nc l udi ngthe c olo r, c o n sis te n c y, p ac ka gin g, p ric in g, th e m an n er in w hi ch the parti es to the t ra nsacti on r eferto the substa nce, and w hetherth e parti es to the t ra nsacti on re c og n ize th e s u b st an c e a s c ra c k. St ephe ns on , 557 F. 3d at 453 ( i denti fyi ng pri ce, appeara nce, packa gi ng, m an ner oftr ansact ion, and the und er sta nd i ng o fthe parti es to th e tr an sa ct i o n a s r el ev an t f ac to r s i n de te r m i ni ng w h e t h er a p ar tic u lar su b st an c e is cr ac k); Un i t e d S t a t e s v. K el ly, 5 1 9 F
. 3 d 3 5 5 , 3 6 3

- 6 4 ( 7 t h C i r . 2 0 0 8 ) ( l i s t i n gf o r m, co l o r, pa ckagi ng, a nd the wor ds us ed by the b uy era nd sel l eras r el evantto the cal cul us ofwh ethera substa nce8 N o. 08

- 3891 i s cr ac k); U nite d State s v. M orris , 4 9 8 F
. 3 d 6 3 4 , 6 4 4 ( 7th C i r . 2 0 0 7 ) ( i d e n t i fy i n gc o l o r, c o n s i s t e n c y a n d p a c k a g i ng as r el ev an t f ac to rs, and no tingtha t wetc r ac ki s no t unus ua l)

. T h e firs t p ro b lem w i t h W ilbo rn ’s a rg u m en t is th at it disingenuousl y describes the consi ste ncy ofth e substa nces at i ssu e as be i ng si m i l ar to m ashed pota toe s, wet s a n d , a n d c h o c o l a t e c h i p c o o k i e d o u g h

. A l t ho ug h s o me ofthe sam ple s had the se unu sual co nsi ste nci es after th ey ha d been groun d up f or test in g , t he district cou rt per s o na l l y v i e we d s a mpl e s that were prese rv ed be f o r e g r i ndi nga nd f o und tha t ea chs ampl e ha d the ch ar ac te r i st i c r o ck

- l i k e, o f f

- whi te appea r an ce tha t th e expert s e xpected cr ack to ha ve. M or eov er, Laux test i fi ed that the pos t- gr i nd i ng co nsi stency was cause d by pocket s o f w ate r tr apped i nsi de the ro cks ofcr ack, pro babl y du e t o i n s u f fi c i e n td r y i n gt i me . R
. 8 6 , a t4 5

- 4 7
. Ag en t L ab n o e x p lain ed th at a c er ta in lev el of w e t n e s s c ou ld be e xpected b ec ause deal er s o ften wai t t o coo k powd er coca i ne i nto cra ck unti l theyhave r ecei ved an o rder, so th atthe y wi l l no t be c au g htpo ss es si ngc r ac k

. Age ntLabn o al so re m ar ked thatwater add ed w eightto the cra ck, w h ich m ade the substa nce m or e pr ofi tabl e t o deal er s, w ho typi cal l y s el l cr ack by w ei ght. R. 86 , at59
. Laux te sti fi ed that the dar kerco l oro f t he subst ances aftergr i nd i ng w as du e t o the pr ese nce o fo theri ngre die nts i n the mix tu r e. S he a lso test i fi ed th atthe pur i tyo fthe sa m p le s was no t det er m i na ti ve b ec au se s he ha d e nc o unter ed coca i ne b ase w i th wide- ra ngi ng l eve l s o fpuri ty. A gent Labno te sti fi ed that the c ra ck w as packag ed asN o. 08

- 3891 9 h e w ou ld ex p ec t c ra c k t o b e p ac ka ge d . Th e la rg er qu an titi es w er e pack age d as he expected wh ol esa l e qu an tit i es to be pack age d, an d t he sm al l erquanti ti es w er e pack

age d i n the m anner he expecte d u se r am ounts to be p acka ged. Perhaps m ost dam ni ng f or W i lbor n w as h is own post-arres t s tat em ent t o A gent Labno. I n that sta tem ent, W i lbor n hi m sel fr epeate dly i denti fi ed the substa nce that he sol d to the c onfi denti al i n for m an t a s c ra c k c oc ain e. In s h or t, th e d ist ri c t c o u rtd id n ot cle ar ly er r i n acce pti ng the te sti m ony oftwo exp erts that Ex hibi ts 9, 10 , 11 and 21 consi ste d of cocai ne bas e that was pr i ce d l i k e cr ac k, pa ck ag ed l i k e cr ac k, a nd ha d the c olo r an d co n sis t e n c y o f cr ac k. U nite d State s v. B ranch , 195 F. 3d 928, 93 4 ( 7th Ci r. 19 99) ( i n deter m i ni ng wh ether a s u b s t a n c e i s c r a c kc o c a i n e , th e d i s t r i c tc o u r ta l o ne dec i des the i ss ue b as ed o n the e vi den ce r ec ei ve d, c o nside r i ngthe c r edibi l i ty, k no wl edg e an d e xpe r i en ce o fthe wi tn es se s)

. Nordi d the c ou rt cl ea r l y e r r i n c o nc l udi ng t h at, g i v e n th o s e fi n d i n g s a n d g i v e n Wi lb o r n ’ s o wn admi ss i o ns , Exhibi ts 9 , 1 0, 11 a nd 2 1 wer e cr ac kc o ca i ne as w e hav e defi ned th at ter m . To par aphrase J am es W h itc om b R iley , i f co c ain e b as e l o ok s like cr ac k, is pri ced l i ke cra ck, i s pack age d l ike cra ck, and i s s ol d as cra ck, i t i s pro babl y c ra ck. A FFI RMED .

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