Opinion ID: 70335
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: the use of the preponderance of the evidence standard at sentencing

Text: 40 Because of his acid-throwing attack on Clarissa Webb and her children, the district court enhanced Jackson's sentence under the Guideline policy statement providing that [i]f reliable information indicates that the criminal history category does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the defendant's past criminal conduct or the likelihood that the defendant will commit other crimes, the court may consider imposing a sentence departing from the otherwise applicable guideline range. U.S.S.G. Sec. 4A1.3, p.s. At the time of sentencing, state charges were pending against Jackson because of his attack on the Webb family, and Jackson had pleaded not guilty to those charges. At the time of his sentence hearing in this case, no court had found beyond a reasonable doubt that Jackson had been the one who had attacked them. Jackson contends that the district court used the preponderance of the evidence standard to find that he had been the attacker, and that use of that standard of proof, instead of the beyond a reasonable doubt standard, violated his due process rights. 41 Jackson's argument fails on both the procedural facts and the law. As to the procedural facts, the district court did acknowledge that the preponderance of the evidence standard was applicable, but went on to find that even the beyond a reasonable doubt standard was satisfied. The district court judge explained that if she were a juror evaluating the government's evidence of the attack, she would find that they had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Stanley Jackson committed this crime. Thus, the fact is that Jackson got the benefit of the higher standard of proof. 42 That higher standard is more than Jackson was entitled to, because it is the settled law of this circuit that at sentencing, a federal defendant's due process rights are ... satisfied by the preponderance of the evidence standard. United States v. Terzado-Madruga, 897 F.2d 1099, 1125 (11th Cir.1990); see also United States v. Nyhuis, 8 F.3d 731, 744 (11th Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 56, 130 L.Ed.2d 15 (1994); United States v. Ledesma, 979 F.2d 816, 819 (11th Cir.1992); United States v. Cornog, 945 F.2d 1504, 1514 (11th Cir.1991); United States v. Ignancio Munio, 909 F.2d 436, 439 (11th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 938, 111 S.Ct. 1393, 113 L.Ed.2d 449 (1991); United States v. Alston, 895 F.2d 1362, 1372-73 (11th Cir.1990); see also U.S.S.G. Sec. 6A1.3, comment. (backg'd) (The Commission believes that use of a preponderance of the evidence standard is appropriate to meet due process requirements and policy concerns in resolving disputes regarding application of the guidelines to the facts of the case.). We are bound by the prior panels' resolution of the issue and may not revisit the question. See United States v. Evans, 910 F.2d 790, 797 (11th Cir.1990), aff'd on other grounds, 504 U.S. 255, 112 S.Ct. 1881, 119 L.Ed.2d 57 (1992); United States v. Machado, 804 F.2d 1537, 1543 (11th Cir.1986); Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206 (11th Cir.1981) (en banc).