Opinion ID: 2994743
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Gholson

Text: Gholson was convicted and sentenced on the CCE count. The applicable statute prescribes a mandatory term of life imprisonment for those convicted of a CCE if such person is . . . one of several such principal administrators, organizers, or leaders and the CCE sold a certain quantity of drugs or reaped a certain amount of receipts. 21 U.S.C. sec. 848(b). Gholson challenges the district court’s determination at sentencing that he was a principal--a finding that we review only for clear error. See United States v. Brown, 900 F.2d 1098, 1101 (7th Cir. 1990). Gholson was the top unincarcerated GD member for one month and he sat as a board member from April to September 1996. A seat on the Board of Directors was the highest attainable position, subordinate only to Larry Hoover. This court has concluded in the past that individuals holding the rank of Governor were principals for sentencing purposes, see Jackson, 207 F.3d at 919. The district court’s finding that board members, who ranked above Governors, were also principals is therefore unexceptional. The sentencing judge recognized that Gholson’s leadership may have been relatively brief, but the judge still decided to sentence Gholson to life imprisonment. Gholson has cited no case law that makes it legal error to fail to discount a principal’s sentence if his period of leadership was brief. The district court’s determination that Gholson was a principal for purposes of CCE sentencing was not clearly erroneous. Even if Gholson was not a principal, he could still have been sentenced to life based on the CCE charge. The base offense level for the CCE charge was 42 (base offense level of 38 based on the quantity of drugs, sec. 2D1.1(c)(1), plus four, sec. 2D1.5). When we add two levels for possession of a firearm, sec. 2D1.1(b)(1), we end up at level 44, which carries with it a mandatory life sentence. See U.S.S.G. Ch. 5, Pt. A. Similarly, Gholson could have been sentenced to life for the conspiracy charge. The district court found that Gholson’s sentencing level for the conspiracy was at least 45: starting out with a base offense level of 38 based on the amount of drugs involved in the conspiracy, sec. 2D1.1(c)(1), adding one point for use of minors, sec. 3B1.4, adding two points for possession of a firearm, sec. 2D1.1 (b)(1), and adding four points for leadership in the conspiracy, sec. 3B1.1(a). Again, a life sentence is required for any sentencing level over 43. U.S.S.G. Ch. 5, Pt. A. Thus any error the court may have made in determining that Gholson was a principal would have been harmless.