Opinion ID: 203905
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Suffolk Superior Court Conviction

Text: Bryant additionally challenges whether the government met its burden to prove the fact of the Suffolk Superior Court conviction. Here, it is notable that Bryant does not challenge the authenticity of the certified copy of the judicial record detailing the Suffolk Superior Court conviction. Rather, Bryant, challenges the fact of the conviction on grounds that a hand-written docket sheet from the Boston Municipal Court, the court where the case originated, puts into question the validity of the Suffolk Superior Court conviction. The notation states, SUCR9310760: Previous record vacated. Superior Court Case is dismissed. Bryant contends that this notation, though not from the court of conviction, is nevertheless a judicial record of the originating case that undermines the reliability of the Suffolk Superior Court conviction for purposes of a sentencing enhancement. The government defended the reliability of the judicial record from the Suffolk Superior Court during the sentencing hearing. The government noted that the official court record from the court of conviction is a more dependable source than a hand-written notation from another court. In any event, the government contends that the district court did not clearly err in crediting the government's argument. We agree. Unlike its evidence supporting the fact of the New York conviction, the government submitted a certified copy of a judicial record to prove the fact of the Suffolk Superior Court conviction from the court in which Bryant was convicted. As stated above, the government can satisfy its burden through this type of judicial record because it is presumptively reliable. See McKenzie, 539 F.3d at 19. Moreover, the record shows that the district court carefully considered Bryant's argument, but nevertheless decided in favor of the government. Thus, despite the existence of the handwritten notation which admittedly added some confusion, we cannot conclude that the district court clearly erred in finding that the certified copy of the record from the Suffolk Superior Court was sufficiently reliable to support the fact of Bryant's Suffolk Superior Court conviction. [A] district court's choice between two plausible, but conflicting, interpretations of a factual scenario cannot amount to clear error. United States v. Carrasco, 540 F.3d 43, 49 (1st Cir.2008) (alterations in original) (quoting Valentín v. Hosp. Bella Vista, 254 F.3d 358, 367 (1st Cir.2001)).