Opinion ID: 569213
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Edwards' base offense level

Text: 56 The district judge calculated Edwards' sentence on the basis of 10 kilograms or more of heroin, offering the following boilerplate explanation: 57 [U]nder the Guidelines, a defendant should be sentenced based on the actions of his co-conspirators which were done in furtherance of the conspiracy and which were known or reasonably foreseeable to defendant.    Applying these principles to the instant case, the court finds that the defendant is responsible for the total amount of heroin--over ten kilograms--distributed and attempted to be distributed by his co-conspirators during the life of the conspiracy from January 1986 through December 2, 1988. 58 Tr. 1397. This type of discussion approximates the kind of individualized inquiry that the sentencing judge must make in order that the defendant is sentenced only on the basis of a conspiracy that was reasonably foreseeable to him. However, district judges should conduct this inquiry in a less conclusory fashion, setting forth the reasons why the particular amount of drugs was reasonably foreseeable to him, with reference to the evidence before the court. As we stated previously: Every sentence under the Guidelines must be supported by reasons.    'Reasons' means something more than conclusions--a distinction important not only to the defendant whose future is at stake but also to the appellate process   . White, 888 F.2d at 495. The value of this inquiry was discussed in United States v. Herrera, 878 F.2d 997 (7th Cir.1989), where it was noted that [s]pecific findings will both guide reviewing courts to the evidentiary basis for sentencing judgments, and also help the trial judge to identify matters relevant to application of the Guidelines. Id. at 1002, quoting United States v. Mejia-Orosco, 867 F.2d 216, 221-222 (5th Cir.1989), certiorari denied, 492 U.S. 924, 109 S.Ct. 3257, 106 L.Ed.2d 602; United States v. Camargo, 908 F.2d 179, 185 n. 3 (7th Cir.1990); see also United States v. Agyemang, 876 F.2d 1264, 1274-1275 (7th Cir.1989) (Cudahy, J., concurring). 2 Before concluding that a given quantity of drugs was foreseeable for sentencing purposes, the district judge should make clear that he has considered the evidence of the individual defendant's agreement to join a conspiracy of the scope alleged by the government. See United States v. Johnson, 935 F.2d 47, 51-52 (4th Cir.1991) (Guidelines mandate an open, on-the-record, reason supported [sic] determination of the principal components of a guidelines sentence, including the determination of the applicable guidelines range); 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c) (requiring sentencing judge to state in open court the reasons for the imposition of a particular sentence). Because the district judge offered a generic explanation for assigning the same base offense level to each of the defendants, it must be determined, on a defendant-by-defendant basis, whether Edwards and the other defendants have offered meritorious arguments for remanding their cases for resentencing. 59 From the evidence introduced, it was within the jurors' discretion for them to conclude that Edwards conspired to distribute heroin. However, virtually all the evidence points to Edwards being an insubstantial supplier who made a late entrance into the conspiracy. His one proven sale of heroin to the organization, as well as all the telephone conversations mentioned above, occurred less than two months before federal agents arrested the defendants. The only evidence linking Edwards to the conspiracy before this two-month period is the witness testimony that places Edwards with Cole on various occasions. On cross-examination, both of these witnesses admitted that they had never seen Edwards deliver or sell heroin to Cole, and had never heard Cole say he was getting or had ever gotten heroin from Edwards (Tr. 159, 333-334). 60 Because there is no evidence that Edwards entered into an agreement to become part of Cole's heroin conspiracy before October 1988, his base offense level must be recalculated to reflect the quantity of heroin that was reasonably foreseeable to him. Leda Martin 61 Defendant Martin also challenges the district judge's sentencing on the basis of 10 kilograms or more of heroin, claiming that the court made no individualized assessment as to the amount of heroin that was reasonably foreseeable to her. She also disputes the district court's adjustment of her sentence upwards, because it found Martin to be a manager or supervisor in an organization that had five or more participants. We conclude that the sentencing judge did not clearly err in adjusting upwards Martin's sentence for her role as a manager. As to the base offense level, Martin argues that the judge should have conducted an individualized inquiry into the amount of drugs reasonably foreseeable to her. See Camargo, 908 F.2d at 185 n. 3; Herrera, 878 F.2d at 1002 (discussed supra ). However, she simply challenges the failure of the sentencing judge to do this, without presenting any facts that support her claim that she should have been sentenced based on the lesser amount. 62 At sentencing, the district judge did in fact consider expressly the amount of drugs reasonably foreseeable to Martin. He used the same boilerplate language, however, that he used with Edwards, concluding that Martin was responsible for the entire 10 kilograms of heroin (Tr. 1448-1449). 63 Despite the preference of this Court for a more explicit, considered approach to reasonable foreseeability, defendant Martin has not given any ground for concluding that the conspiracy she entered into was a narrower one, or that the amount of heroin was not reasonably foreseeable to her. On the contrary, at his direct examination, government witness Haussian Evans testified that he delivered heroin packages to Leda Martin's house in  '86, '87, and '88 (Tr. 275). As a manager, Martin came into contact with the gamut of the organization's distribution network. Due to her extensive involvement in the Cole conspiracy throughout the three years of its duration, Martin, unlike several other defendants, cannot argue that 10 or more kilograms of heroin was not foreseeable due to her late entry. Moreover, Martin was a manager in the Cole organization. Indeed, she played an integral role in the day-to-day operation of the distribution network. Therefore, the district judge did not err when he concluded by a preponderance of the evidence that 10 or more kilograms of heroin was reasonably foreseeable to Martin. Olanrewaju Raji 64 As with the previously discussed defendants, the district judge concluded that Raji was responsible for the total amount of heroin involved in the conspiracy (Tr. 1433-1434). Accordingly, he determined Raji's base offense level to be 36. On appeal, Raji makes two arguments in support of resentencing. First, he claims that he should be resentenced based on the disparity between his sentence and those of joint co-conspirators Dora and Bates. As already explained, this argument is unconvincing. 65 Raji's second ground for resentencing merits closer consideration. On appeal, Raji claims that according to the evidence, 10 kilograms of heroin was an inappropriate amount on which to base his sentence because his involvement in the conspiracy did not commence until May 1988 at the earliest. Since the district judge offered the same generic explanation for calculating Raji's base offense level, it must be determined whether Raji has offered a meritorious basis for remanding his case for resentencing. 66 Unlike Leda Martin, Raji has made reference to specific evidence in claiming that the trial judge erroneously concluded that 10 or more kilograms of heroin was foreseeable to him. He claims that the evidence made him a late entrant into the conspiracy. At the earliest, Raji's involvement did not begin until May 1988, at which time the Government intercepted a telephone call made from Raji's residence to Marlowe Cole's residence (Tr. 556). According to Raji, his involvement did not begin until October 5, 1988, the date on which the Government first intercepted a telephone conversation between Cole and Raji (Tr. 205). 67 The Government responds that Raji was a heroin supplier, yet concedes in its brief that Raji was a steady supplier only during 1988 (Tr. 66, 553-560, 567; Bennett Tr. 51-53; Telephone Tr. 318, 3173, 3179). It appears that the Government's only evidence of Raji's earlier involvement consisted of references by Cole to Raji by nickname--the African. However, Raji's name did not appear on the list of 41 names on a confidential source list of the Cole organization's personnel (Tr. 330), and neither Ontario or Haussian Evans, the two insider witnesses, testified that they knew Raji. In fact, they testified that they did not see him before the December 2, 1988 arrests (Tr. 155, 330). C.C. Hampton, who was a manager in the distribution chain, also testified that he had no knowledge of Raji until the arrests were made (Tr. 1045, 1047). 68 While Raji by his own admission sold heroin to Cole, the evidence does not support his involvement until late in 1988, only a few months before the Government cracked open the conspiracy by arresting Raji and the other members of the Cole organization. Raji was liable for conspiracy, but his role as co-conspirator was more limited, and he should be resentenced to reflect his late entry into the conspiracy, for the amount of heroin reasonably foreseeable to him must be less. United States v. North, 900 F.2d 131, 133-134 (8th Cir.1990) (holding that sale of drugs between defendant and another co-conspirator supported a more limited objective than the overall conspiracy and that defendant should be sentenced for lesser quantity of drugs). Andre Stover 69 Like Raji, Andre Stover (also known as Cisco) was a late entrant to the conspiracy. He came into the organization on November 10, 1988 (Tr. 1406), less than a month before federal agents arrested the defendants. The district judge did not take Stover's late matriculation into account and sentenced him based upon 10 or more kilograms of heroin. At Stover's sentencing hearing, the court justified the base offense level by delivering the same boilerplate explanation--Stover could be held liable for past acts of co-conspirators which were committed before he joined the conspiracy, but that were also reasonably foreseeable. 70 In arguing that he had been erroneously sentenced, Stover cites the indictment, which alleged that the first heroin transaction involving Stover transpired on November 10; the telephone records, which do not reveal telephone conversations between Cole and Stover occurring before November 10; the Presentence Investigation Report (PSI), which only attributed to Stover the heroin distributed after November 1988; and the actual quantity of heroin distributed during the final month of the organization's operation. At most, Stover concedes that 644 grams of heroin were distributed during the period from November 10 through December 2, and this amount falls substantially short of the 10 kilograms upon which the district judge based Stover's sentence. 71 The Government attempts to link Stover to the earlier years of the conspiracy, claiming that Stover had visited Cole's house on frequent occasions (Tr. 72-74, 620-625, 630-633, Telephone Tr. 3224), and that Stover had knowledge of the Cole organization and its operations (Telephone Tr. 3227/3229, 3278, 3287, 4145, 4208, 4274, 4530, 4782/4786, 5220, 5373). However, this evidence merely established that Stover was seen in the presence of Cole on several occasions, that Stover knew certain members of the Cole organization, and, on one occasion, that Stover purchased videotapes from Cole. Before November 1988, there is no evidence that Stover entered into an agreement to become part of the Cole organization's heroin conspiracy. Therefore, Stover's base offense level must be recalculated to reflect the quantity of heroin that was reasonably foreseeable to him. Jimmy Lee Coleman 72 Jimmy Lee Coleman challenges the district court's determination of his base offense level based upon 10 or more kilograms of heroin. Coleman's position is very much like that of his live-in girlfriend Leda Martin. Together, they held positions in the Cole organization as managers and, as demonstrated in the section of this opinion discussing Martin's role, presided over the organization's distribution network. Given Coleman's involvement throughout the three years of the Cole organization's operation, nothing contained in the joint brief persuades us that the district judge erred in concluding that 10 or more kilograms of heroin was reasonably foreseeable to Coleman for sentencing purposes. C.C. Hampton 73 Hampton faults the sentencing judge for failing to make an individualized determination as to the amount of heroin reasonably foreseeable to him. While Hampton admits that he purchased heroin from the Cole organization as early as 1986, he asserts that he did not agree to conspire with the Cole organization until September or October of 1988. Therefore, Hampton argues that he should be sentenced only upon the quantity of heroin that was distributed during the final months of the conspiracy. 74 The Government, in contrast, groups Hampton with the other two managers, Leda Martin and Jimmy Lee Coleman. According to its brief, Hampton occupied the role of a manager in the heroin distribution network. The in-court testimony of the Evans brothers shows that they made drug deliveries to and money pick-ups from Hampton throughout the three years of the conspiracy (Tr. 30-33, 45-46, 89-90, 162-164, 271-275). Therefore, Hampton's claim that he was a late entrant into the Cole organization is contradicted by the evidence. That Hampton was also a consumer throughout the conspiracy does not negate the managerial role that he played. Consequently, we conclude that he was properly sentenced based upon 10 or more kilograms of heroin, although it would have been preferable for the district judge to have made specific reference to the evidence in determining Hampton's base offense level. E.g., Herrera, 878 F.2d at 1002. Marlowe Cole 75 Cole does not challenge the district judge's determination of his base offense level in his individual brief. He pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and entered into an agreement with the Government as to his sentence. Therefore, there is no need to decide whether the sentencing judge considered the appropriate amount of drugs in determining Cole's base offense level. In any event, Cole stood at the head of the heroin conspiracy. His involvement extended over the entire course of the conspiracy and he oversaw the operation of the organization, so that he has no credible basis for denying that the entire amount of heroin distributed was reasonably foreseeable to him.Eric L. Bennett 76 Although he was tried separately, the district judge delivered the same routine explanation for calculating Bennett's base offense level. The trial court held Bennett responsible for all of the heroin that was distributed throughout the course of the conspiracy, even though the only evidence introduced at trial showed that Bennett sold heroin for cash from the end of October through December 2, 1988 (Supplemental Appendix of Eric Bennett at 1). Bennett's PSI recommended that he be held responsible only for the amount of heroin distributed during the time that he actually sold heroin for the Cole organization. The Government objected, however, and recommended that Bennett be sentenced on the basis of the entire amount of heroin because he was a user of heroin prior to joining the conspiracy himself and because he lived across the street from Cole's workhouse. Although the Government agreed that Bennett's actual involvement in the conspiracy did not commence until the end of October 1988, it asserts that as a user of heroin he knew of the existence and scope of the conspiracy before he joined it. Therefore, the Government claimed that the entire amount of heroin was reasonably foreseeable to him. 77 Reasonable foreseeability refers to the scope of the agreement that the defendant entered into when he joined the conspiracy, not to the drugs defendant may have known about as a function of his individual consumption. As a matter of conspiracy law, defendant can be convicted for being part of a conspiracy where some acts of co-conspirators were committed before he joined. Castillo, 814 F.2d at 355; Spudic, 795 F.2d at 1337, and Lynch, 699 F.2d at 849 & n. 2. But that is not say that a defendant can be held liable for those acts specifically. To sentence a defendant based on the entire amount of drugs distributed requires that this amount be reasonably foreseeable with respect to the agreement that the defendant entered into. He may not be held responsible for the total quantity of drugs simply because he might have been aware that Cole operated a large-scale drug organization. 78 Bennett was a street dealer in the Cole organization and did not become involved in the conspiracy until its final months. Therefore as a retailer he was not necessarily privy to the larger mechanics of the Cole organization. As a late entrant, he distributed a limited amount of heroin. Accordingly, the district judge must recalculate Bennett's base offense level based on the lesser quantity of heroin that was reasonably foreseeable to him. Reggie Griffin 79 Griffin pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to possession of heroin with the intent to distribute the drug through the commercial channels of the Cole organization. There is a discrepancy, however, between the plea that Griffin entered into and the conspiracy for which he was sentenced. Griffin claims that the agreement that he entered into was narrower than a conspiracy to distribute 10 or more kilograms of heroin. Griffin only admits responsibility for the sale of one ounce of heroin to Cole for personal use in November 1988. This transaction represents the only sale by Griffin of heroin and represents the beginning of his involvement in the distribution of heroin. Before November 1988, Griffin, by his own admission, was a regular customer of the Cole organization, and he was familiar with the street dealers who worked for Cole. However, until he facilitated the sale of one ounce of heroin in November 1988, Griffin played no part in the distribution of heroin. 80 The district judge calculated Griffin's base offense level with reference to the entire quantity of heroin distributed over the three years of the conspiracy and offered the usual boilerplate explanation justifying the base offense level. At defendant's sentencing hearing, the judge made the identical conclusory statement that the entire amount of heroin was reasonably foreseeable to Griffin under the Guidelines. In view of Griffin's narrower agreement to facilitate the sale of one ounce of heroin during the final days of the Cole organization's existence, he should be sentenced for the quantity of heroin that was reasonably foreseeable to him as a result of the narrow agreement. North, 900 F.2d at 131.Ronald McMillen 81 McMillen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute in excess of one kilogram of heroin and was sentenced to 121 months in prison. Unlike the other defendants, his offense level was 32, computed on the basis of one kilogram of heroin. Consequently, McMillen does not challenge the computation of his offense level. He asks to be resentenced because he was deprived of the statutorily mandated ten days to review his PSI before the sentencing hearing, in violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(c)(3)(A). 82 The Government agrees that McMillen should be resentenced since he was given only one hour before his sentencing hearing to read his pre-sentence investigation report (Br. 62-63). At his sentencing hearing, he protested to the trial judge that he had not had enough time to read it. This time brevity violates Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(c)(3)(A), which states in relevant part that: 83 At least ten days before imposing sentence, unless this minimum period is waived by the Defendant, the Court shall provide the Defendant and the Defendant's counsel with a copy of the report of the presentence investigation   . 84 Fed.R.Crim.P.Rule 32(c)(3)(A). This language is replicated in 18 U.S.C. § 3552(d), requiring disclosure ten days before sentencing unless waived. 85 McMillen claims that Rule 32 requires that he be given ten days to review the PSI, while the Government concedes only that McMillen should be given sufficient opportunity (Br. 63). The difference of opinion arises from the Government's belief that McMillen waived his right to have ten days to review the PSI when he fled the jurisdiction and was absent from his original sentencing hearing. As authority, the Government cites United States v. Busche, 915 F.2d 1150 (7th Cir.1990), where this Court held that defendant waived his right to the full ten days when he participated in the sentencing hearing without objection. Id. at 1151. The defendant's participation in sentencing in Busche stood as an implicit waiver sufficient to override the explicit 10-day requirement of the Rule. We are not persuaded that fleeing the jurisdiction constitutes waiver for the purposes of the Rule and § 3552(d). The notion of waiver here has to do with a defendant willingly allowing his sentencing hearing to occur before the statutorily mandated ten days has expired. Fleeing the jurisdiction may subject a defendant to a host of additional penalties, but an inadequate amount of time to review a PSI is not one of them. McMillen will have to be resentenced and, so long as he does nothing to waive his statutory right to examine the PSI this time, he shall have ten days to review the report before sentencing.