Opinion ID: 219844
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Agent Wilson's Testimony at Resentencing

Text: Finally, we find no merit to Johnson's claim that the district court erred by considering Agent Wilson's testimony at resentencing. The district court initially sustained Johnson's objection to Agent Wilson testifying, finding his testimony tentative and imprecise and concluding that the government had not shown enough to present him as a witness. But after the government presented a Report to Congress discussing the prices of crack based on data from twenty American cities and relied on it to make arguments about the price of crack in Aurora, the government asked that Agent Wilson be allowed to testify about drug prices, since his experience included investigations in Aurora, the Chicago area, and Washington, D.C. The district court ultimately permitted Agent Wilson to testify, and he proceeded to discuss crack prices, use and distribution quantities of crack, and various code words drug dealers use. Johnson claims that the district court erred by permitting Agent Wilson to testify, and references the fact that the district court did not specify whether Agent Wilson was testifying as an expert. First, Johnson's argument is waived because he provides no authority indicating that the district court erred by permitting Johnson to testify. See United States v. Useni, 516 F.3d 634, 658 (7th Cir.2008) (failure to cite relevant authority constitutes waiver). But even if not waived, his argument is meritless. The Federal Rules of Evidence do not apply in sentencing hearings and the district court was entitled to rely on [a witness]'s testimony even if it may not have qualified as expert testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 702. The Guidelines (and the Due Process Clause) allow sentencing courts to rely on information that `has sufficient indicia of reliability to support its probable accuracy.' United States v. Hunter, 145 F.3d 946, 952 (7th Cir.1998) (quoting U.S.S.G. § 6A1.3(a)); see also United States v. Schroeder, 536 F.3d 746, 752 (7th Cir. 2008). As explained above, Agent Wilson's testimony was sufficiently reliable to permit its consideration at sentencing. The district court did not err by considering it.