Opinion ID: 537690
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: factual determinations in sentencing

Text: 21 Finally, Williams disagrees with the district court's factual findings that she was an organizer or leader of the conspiracy, U.S.S.G. Sec. 3B1.1(a), and that she obstructed justice by misleading a pretrial services officer during an interview by providing false information concerning her prior arrests, U.S.S.G. Sec. 3C1.1. Williams also objects to the court's determination of her base offense level under the sentencing guidelines by referencing the total quantity of drugs involved in the conspiracy rather than the much smaller quantity with which she personally dealt. Each of these contentions lacks merit. 22 We will defer to the district court's factual finding that Williams was an organizer unless that determination is clearly erroneous. See United States v. Beaulieu, 893 F.2d 1177 at 1181 (10th Cir.1990). Having reviewed the record, we cannot conclude that the district court clearly erred in finding that Williams' cooperation with and involvement in the ongoing conspiracy over a period of at least nine years made her an organizer or leader for purposes of the guidelines. 23 Williams next objects to the increase in the base offense level by 2 levels for obstruction of justice. The district court found that she obstructed justice by providing false information concerning prior arrests during an interview in connection with pretrial services. Williams argues that she had no duty to disclose her prior arrest because that arrest eventually led to a conviction which was later overturned by the state supreme court. This argument misconstrues the district court's findings. The court did not base the finding on any failure to provide information; rather, the court clearly stated: 24 My opinion is that during the interview ... Williams[ ] had no obligation to volunteer information about her prior arrests, she could remain silent, but she could not supply false information, which she did. And that supplying the false information concerning the lack of arrests is not justified by the reversal of one conviction that followed after one of those arrests. The enhancement for obstruction of justice is appropriate.... 25 R.Vol. V at 52-53. 26 Williams also contends that she did not lie during the pretrial interview; that the question which prompted her to offer information concerning prior arrests was ambiguous and did not specifically define whether an arrest prior to a conviction should be disclosed. The sentencing judge did not find, and we need not conclude, that Williams lied in response to a direct question. The proper inquiry is whether Williams provided false information to mislead the interviewer. The commentary to Sec. 3C1.1 provides that the increase for obstruction of justice is intended to provide a sentence enhancement for a defendant who engages in conduct calculated to mislead or deceive authorities or those involved in a judicial proceeding. U.S.S.G. Sec. 3C1.1, comment. The guideline lists as examples of such conduct the furnishing of false statements to the probation office or sentencing judge. U.S.S.G. Sec. 3C1.1, comment. (n. 1(c), (e)). The court's determination that Williams obstructed justice by misleading the pretrial services officer is subject only to review for clear error. See United States v. Franco-Torres, 869 F.2d 797, 800 (5th Cir.1989). Having reviewed the record, we conclude that the increase for obstruction was not clearly erroneous. 27 Williams' final objection to the sentence is that the base offense level was incorrectly calculated using the total quantity of drugs involved in Williams' portion of the conspiracy. Williams' contention that she is only responsible for the quantity which the government proved she personally handled is incorrect. As a member of the ongoing conspiracy, Williams is subject to a sentence calculated on a base offense level determined by reference to the actual quantity of drugs involved in the conspiracy provided that she knew or should have known that at least such amount was involved. See, e.g., United States v. Warters, 885 F.2d 1266, 1273 (5th Cir.1989); United States v. Holland, 884 F.2d 354, 358 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 552, 107 L.Ed.2d 549 (1989); United States v. Guerrero, 863 F.2d 245, 249 (2d Cir.1988). The sentencing judge specifically found that Williams, at a minimum, had knowledge of the criminal enterprise and took no effective steps to bring it to an end.... [A]t a minimum, we have evidence of a conspiracy extending over nine years, years in which she had knowledge of it, and episodic but significant participation in it. R.Vol. V at 49-50. Williams does not contest the court's ensuing calculation, based on conservative estimates derived from the evidence, of the total quantity of heroin involved in the conspiracy which was known to Williams. Having already concluded that the court properly included the total quantity of drugs known to Williams, we affirm the court's determination of the base offense level.