Opinion ID: 220180
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Total Offense Level

Text: Keck was convicted of multiple counts, requiring the district court to separately determine the offense level for each group and apply the greater of the two. See USSG § 1B1.1(d); § 3D1.3(a). Instead, the district court calculated a total offense level of 46 for Keck's drug conspiracy group and then improperly added two levels based on a specific offense characteristic for money laundering. See R., Vol. 2 at 65. Although the district court erred in this last step, its calculation of the offense level for Keck's drug conspiracy offense was otherwise correct. After finding Keck's drug conspiracy offense involved at least 1.5 kilograms of actual methamphetamine, the district court calculated a base offense level of 38 under USSG § 2D1.1(c)(1). As noted above, the court then applied a two-level enhancement for the use of a minor under § 3B1.4, a four-level enhancement for being the organizer or leader of a criminal activity under § 3B1.1(a), and a two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice under § 3C1.1. But the court declined to adopt a two-level increase under § 2D1.1(b)(1) for the involvement of dangerous weapons. Thus, the court reached a final offense level of 46 for the drug-conspiracy offense. Keck contends the offense level for his money-laundering conviction under § 2S1.1 should have been 40. But since § 3D1.3(a) requires a sentencing court to apply the greatest of the offense levels when a defendant has multiple convictions, Keck's minimum total offense level remains at 46the properly-calculated offense level of Keck's drug-conspiracy conviction.