Opinion ID: 200656
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sentence Guidelines

Text: 24 Finally, Reyes contends that the district court violated his due process rights when it applied the United States Sentencing Guidelines' murder cross-reference to enhance his sentence to life without submitting the enhancement factor to the jury for proof beyond a reasonable doubt. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2D1.1(d). Without a jury finding of accountability for Martínez's murder, the court erred in using the murder to calculate his sentence because taking into account the murder results in a higher mandatory sentence in violation of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). 2 25 We review the sentencing court's application of the guidelines de novo and review the factual findings underlying that application for clear error. United States v. Peterson, 233 F.3d 101, 111 (1st Cir. 2000); United States v. Padró Burgos, 239 F.3d 72, 76 (1st Cir.2000). In calculating Reyes's base offense level, the sentencing court applied the murder cross reference because Martínez was killed under circumstances that would constitute murder under 18 U.S.C. § 1111. The murder cross-reference resulted in Reyes's having a base offense level of 43, a level mandating a life sentence. 3 26 This Circuit's recent decisions have eliminated Reyes's Apprendi prayer for relief. In a similar case, a defendant convicted of participating in a drug conspiracy was sentenced to life imprisonment after the sentencing court held him accountable for the deaths of four people, even though the defendant did not participate directly in the actual killing of the victims and was not charged with murder in the district court. United States v. Newton, 326 F.3d 253, 265 (1st Cir.2003). The sentence was affirmed because [a] sentencing court may ... consider relevant conduct of the defendant for purposes of making Guidelines determinations, even if he has not been charged with — and indeed, even if he has been acquitted of — that conduct, so long as the conduct can be proved by a preponderance of the evidence. Id. (quoting United States v. Lombard, 72 F.3d 170 (1st Cir.1995)). A review of the record shows that there was substantial evidence before the judge, on which he could find by a preponderance of the evidence that Reyes was responsible for the death of Martínez. The testimony of Sergeant Rosado, Sánchez, and Rubert provided a more than adequate basis for the district court's attribution of Martínez's murder to Reyes. 27 Ultimately, the statutory maximum sentence for the offense with which Reyes was actually charged is life imprisonment. Because Reyes' sentence does not exceed that statutory maximum, Apprendi is not applicable, regardless of whether a sentencing factor increases the mandatory minimum sentence under either the statute or the Sentencing Guidelines. See United States v. Robinson, 241 F.3d 115, 121-22 (1st Cir.2001); United States v. Caba, 241 F.3d 98, 101 (1st Cir.2001); Sepúlveda v. United States, 330 F.3d 55, 60 (1st Cir.2003) (citing United States v. Robinson as rejecting the argument that when facts found by the judge trigger or increase a mandatory minimum sentence, an Apprendi violation occurs); United States v. Eirby, 262 F.3d 31, 39 (1st Cir. 2001) (stating that the Apprendi doctrine offers no advantage to a defendant who is sentenced to a term less than the otherwise applicable statutory maximum).