Opinion ID: 552336
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: how the sentence eventuated

Text: 2 On January 24, 1989, defendant David Sklar was arrested near the Stockbridge, Massachusetts post office in possession of an Express Mail package containing approximately 75 grams of cocaine. A federal grand jury subsequently returned an indictment charging Sklar with conspiracy to traffick in drugs and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute it. See 21 U.S.C. Secs. 846, 841(a)(1). There was considerable pretrial skirmishing, occupying many months. Eventually, however, defendant pled guilty to both counts of the indictment. 3 On March 9, 1990, a sentencing hearing was held and evidence taken. The district court resolved defendant's objections, made a series of findings, and proceeded to calculate the GSR. See generally United States v. Diaz-Villafane, 874 F.2d 43, 47-48 (1st Cir.) (explaining method of computation under federal sentencing guidelines), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 177, 107 L.Ed.2d 133 (1989); United States v. Wright, 873 F.2d 437, 440 (1st Cir.1989) (similar). No useful purpose would be served by retracing the details of that computation. For introductory purposes, we need observe only that the court determined the GSR to be 37-46 months. See U.S.S.G. Ch. 5, Pt. A (Sentencing Table) (adjusted offense level of 20; criminal history category II). The court then departed downward, citing defendant's posture of rehabilitation during the interval between indictment and sentencing, as well as defendant's cooperation with the government. The defendant was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison, plus a term of supervised release. 4 On appeal, Sklar challenges the relevant conduct component of the GSR calculation while the prosecution challenges the downward departure. We address these points seriatim, memorializing particular facts to the extent required in connection with each segment of our discussion.