Opinion ID: 743554
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Facts Underlying Defendant's Conviction

Text: 31 Because we remand this case for resentencing, we will briefly address the district court's finding that Defendant's crime was minor. 5 This characterization may affect the question of whether the criminal history category into which Defendant falls overrepresents the seriousness of that history. A defendant bears the burden of proving mitigating factors at sentencing. United States v. Barnes, 993 F.2d 680, 683 (9th Cir.1993) (noting that mitigating circumstances more likely are within defendant's knowledge). Here, the PSR provided only minimal facts about the section 11352(a) conviction and did not include the quantity of drugs involved. Defendant's counsel asserted that she had looked at the probation records and the court records and that neither stated the quantity. Based on the absence of a measurement in the records, counsel speculated that what we are talking about here is an unspecified, and very likely very negligible quantity of drugs. Speculation by Defendant's counsel is insufficient to prove the facts of the underlying drug-trafficking crime. Defendant failed to produce any reliable information to prove the quantity of drugs involved. Therefore the evidence was insufficient for any purpose to support the district court's finding that Defendant's conviction for sale or transportation of a controlled substance was minor in nature or involved a small amount of drugs.