Opinion ID: 551551
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Amount of Cocaine to be Distributed

Text: 4 The defendants first argue that because they had agreed to purchase and distribute only seven kilograms of cocaine, it was improper for the district court to sentence them on the basis of the total amount of cocaine--twenty kilograms--to be distributed by the conspirators as a group. 5 The law on this point is clear. When calculating the defendant's base offense level under the Sentencing Guidelines, the sentencing judge determines, among other things, the amount of cocaine involved in the offense. In doing so, the judge may consider a variety of evidence and is not limited to amounts seized or specified in the indictment. United States v. Thomas, 870 F.2d 174, 176 (5th Cir.1989). Moreover, 6 [t]he guidelines make clear that in drug distribution cases quantities of drugs not specified in the count of conviction are to be included in determining the base 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. 7 United States v. Byrd, 898 F.2d 450, 452 (5th Cir.1990). See also U.S.S.G. Sec. 1B1.3, Commentary, 1.19 (January 15, 1988). 8 The sentencing judge's findings as to the amount of cocaine involved are findings of fact, and as such are reviewed only for clear error. Thomas, 870 F.2d at 176. Here the district court's determination that the defendants should be sentenced on the basis of conspiring to distribute twenty kilograms of cocaine is not clearly erroneous; there was ample support in the record for a finding that the defendants were part of a common scheme or plan to distribute twenty kilograms of cocaine.