Opinion ID: 663117
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sentencing--quantity of cocaine

Text: 84 Morgan argues that the district court sentenced him based on an improper calculation of the quantity of cocaine attributable to him. We will only upset the district court's determination of the amount of cocaine involved if it is clearly erroneous. Goines, 988 F.2d at 775. In this case Morgan's co-conspirator, Avery, testified that he dealt with Morgan for roughly nine months in 1989 and that he sold cocaine to Morgan twice each month. The district court, using a conservative approach, found that there was only adequate evidence for concluding that Morgan bought cocaine twice a month for a two and a half month period. Therefore, the court concluded that he was engaged in five transactions. Although there was testimony that in many of these transactions Morgan purchased two to three ounces of cocaine, the court, again erring on the side of caution, only attributed one ounce quantities to Morgan. The final result was that Morgan was personally involved in five transactions for one ounce each. The court thus sentenced him on the basis of five ounces. See id. Not only was there adequate evidence for these findings, but these are more conservative estimates than the evidence would have allowed. The district court's findings were therefore not clearly erroneous.