Opinion ID: 544309
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Grouping of MDA with Offense of Conviction

Text: 50 Defendant argues that the Court further misapplied the Guidelines by grouping the one-eighth ounce of MDA that defendant allegedly could produce, with the marijuana. 3 He makes two arguments. 51 First, Collins says the MDA could not be used against him for sentencing purposes because the charge involving the MDA was dismissed. The Guidelines, however, clearly anticipate including quantities of drugs from uncharged or dismissed counts in the calculation of a defendant's base offense level for drug offenses. See United States v. Gooden, 892 F.2d 725, 727-28 (8th Cir.1989), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 2594, 110 L.Ed.2d 274 (1990) (no due-process violation when court adds quantities from uncharged drug transactions where proved by preponderance of the evidence). The Commentary to Guidelines Sec. 1B1.3(a)(2) explains that: 52 quantities and types of drugs not specified in the count of conviction are to be included in determining the offense level if they were part of the same course of conduct or part of a common scheme or plan as the count of conviction. [Emphasis added.] 53 Id., Commentary at 1.19. The Commentary makes no distinction between uncharged and dismissed counts, and we find no logical reason to do so. See United States v. Natal-Rivera, 879 F.2d 391, 393 (8th Cir.1989). 54 Defendant argues alternatively that the grouping in his case was error because there was no evidence offered to prove that this quantity of MDA could be produced and no finding by the Court that this MDA was part of the same course of conduct as the count of conviction. Again, we disagree. The Court did find generally that the facts were as stated in the presentence report, and the report attributed to Collins an eighth of an ounce of MDA. The presentence report is not evidence and is not a legally sufficient basis for making findings on contested issues of material fact. If a defendant objects to factual allegations in a presentence report, the Court must either state that the challenged facts will not be taken into account at sentencing, or it must make a finding on the disputed issue. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 32(c)(3)(D). If the latter course is chosen, the government must introduce evidence sufficient to convince the Court by a preponderance of the evidence that the fact in question exists. At the evidentiary hearing, the rules of evidence as such do not apply, but the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment does. Here, as Collins says, no evidence was introduced. But Collins did not make a sufficiently specific objection to the portion of the presentence report in question to preserve this issue for appellate review. In the absence of objection alerting the Court to the need for a specific finding, the Court may rely on the presentence report. We affirm the District Court's ruling on Collins's involvement with MDA. 55