Opinion ID: 698715
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Gil's Sentence

Text: 42 Gil argues that the district court erred when calculating his sentence under the Sentencing Guidelines by using the amount of cocaine listed in the ledgers (459 kilograms) rather than the amount of cocaine seized (71 kilograms). Gil contends that the use of the ledgers, some of which were never identified as to authorship, and none of which directly implicated ... Gil other than by supposition, is clearly erroneous. The court's reliance on the drug ledgers resulted in a sentence range of 235-293 months rather than 188-235 months. According to Gil, a stronger showing than that presented by the government is required before the higher guideline range can be imposed. See United States v. Phillippi, 911 F.2d 149, 151 (8th Cir.1990) (rejecting the use of informant's testimony to calculate the amount of cocaine for determining the defendant's sentence, because the relevant dates were not clearly established), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1036, 111 S.Ct. 702, 112 L.Ed.2d 691 (1991). 43 Gil's argument has some emotional appeal, particularly because of the disparity between Gil's sentence and that of his co-defendant Montoya, 6 but it is not supported by our precedent. In United States v. Restrepo, 946 F.2d 654, 656-57 (9th Cir.1991) (en banc), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 961, 112 S.Ct. 1564, 118 L.Ed.2d 211 (1992), this Court rejected the argument that a clear and convincing standard of proof was necessary in sentencing. Instead, we held that the preponderance standard of fact-finding generally is adequate to protect any interests a properly convicted defendant retains at sentencing. Id. at 656 (citing McMillan v. Pennsylvania, 477 U.S. 79, 92, 106 S.Ct. 2411, 2419, 91 L.Ed.2d 67 (1986)). See also United States v. Wilson, 900 F.2d 1350, 1353-54 (9th Cir.1990) (We hold ... that district courts are constitutionally required to make factual determinations underlying application of the Guidelines by at least a preponderance of the evidence.). 44 The Guidelines make clear that when the quantity of narcotics seized does not reflect the amount of drugs involved in a conspiracy, the district court shall approximate the quantity of the controlled substance. In making this determination, the court may consider ... financial or other records. USSG Sec. 2D1.1, comment (n. 12). Likewise, USSG Sec. 1B1.3(a)(2), comment (backg'd), notes that in a drug distribution case, 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. 45 Applying this reasoning, courts have consistently based sentencing calculations on drug quantities derived from ledgers or other records. See, e.g., United States v. Tabares, 951 F.2d 405, 410 (1st Cir.1991) (holding that district court's finding that drugs referred to in a ledger were part of the conspiracy was not clearly erroneous); United States v. Straughter, 950 F.2d 1223, 1235-36 (6th Cir.1991) (allowing the use of financial records to corroborate co-conspirator's testimony regarding quantity), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 948, 112 S.Ct. 1505, 117 L.Ed.2d 643 (1992); United States v. Carper, 942 F.2d 1298, 1303 (8th Cir.) (allowing the use of financial records to estimate drug quantity), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 993, 112 S.Ct. 614, 116 L.Ed.2d 636 (1991); United States v. Cagle, 922 F.2d 404, 407 (7th Cir.1991) (permitting court's reliance on DEA agent's testimony regarding drug ledger when determining quantity). 46 Gil contends that these cases are distinguishable because, in the present case, proof of the ledgers' authorship and their connection with Gil was never definitively established. However, just as the court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the circumstantial evidence provided an adequate basis for admitting the ledgers, it did not clearly err in concluding that a preponderance of the evidence supported the use of 459 kilograms in calculating Gil's base offense level.