Opinion ID: 599269
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Giovanni Saldarriaga

Text: 114 Giovanni Saldarriaga argues that he is entitled to resentencing as a matter of law solely on the ground that the judge's statement of reasons underlying the sentence imposed upon him was conclusory. Mr. Saldarriaga relies on our recent decision in Edwards, 945 F.2d 1387, to support his contention that a failure to enunciate specific reasons underlying the sentence, without more, constitutes reversible error. 115 Mr. Saldarriaga misinterprets our ruling in Edwards. Although our decision in Edwards stresses the need for sentencing judges to make particularized findings in sentencing defendants under the Guidelines, that decision does not stand for the proposition that the judge's failure to go beyond a generic statement of reasons entitles a defendant to resentencing as a matter of law. Indeed, in Edwards, we expressly stated that in the absence of such individualized findings, we are required to determine, on a defendant-by-defendant basis whether a given defendant has offered meritorious arguments for remanding the case for resentencing. Edwards, 945 F.2d at 1400. 116 Moreover, a defendant is not entitled to a remand for resentencing on this basis where, as here, he fails to raise an objection to the district court's explanation at the time of sentencing. United States v. Caicedo, 937 F.2d 1227, 1236 (7th Cir.1991). Mr. Saldarriaga's failure to object to the explanation given by the judge at sentencing therefore waives this argument. 117 Notwithstanding Mr. Saldarriaga's waiver of this argument, the record reveals that the district judge did articulate particularized reasons for Mr. Saldarriaga's sentence. Judge Marovich first quoted the standard of foreseeability enunciated by this court in Savage. He then made the following findings: (1) that Mr. Saldarriaga was the initial player in the conspiracy insofar as it was he who introduced Mr. Olave to Mr. Concha; (2) that Mr. Saldarriaga was personally involved in the sale of 965 grams of cocaine; (3) that the evidence at trial connected him with eight other conspirators; and (4) that the evidence presented at trial demonstrated that he was more than casual acquaintances with each of the eight conspirators. 118 The trial judge's statement of reasons made it clear that he had considered the evidence of Mr. Saldarriaga's agreement to join a conspiracy of the scope alleged by the government. See Edwards, 945 F.2d at 1399. Thus, Judge Marovich offered more than a boilerplate explanation as a basis for his conclusion that Mr. Saldarriaga could reasonably foresee the distribution of 6.5 kilograms of cocaine. 119 Mr. Saldarriaga does not challenge the express findings made by the district judge nor has he advanced any basis for our concluding that the conspiracy that he joined was a narrower one or that the 6.5 kilograms of cocaine was not reasonably foreseeable to him. Accordingly, we decline to disturb the district court's finding that Mr. Saldarriaga could reasonably have foreseen the distribution of 6.5 kilograms of cocaine through the conspiracy.