Opinion ID: 544309
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Downward Adjustment for Governmental Misconduct

Text: 21 He first argues that the District Court erred in refusing to consider substantial evidence of government misconduct, either as a mitigating factor warranting a downward departure, or as an offset to any aggravating factor the Court found. The defendant argues that Ms. Andrews's actions (such as using sex to induce him to sell her drugs and badgering others to sell drugs after they had initially refused to do so), and the police's failure to acknowledge her personal use of drugs, constituted outrageous conduct on the part of the government. While extreme instances of outrageous conduct by the government may bar it from invoking the judicial process to obtain a conviction, we do not have such conduct before us. See United States v. York, 830 F.2d 885, 889 (8th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1074, 108 S.Ct. 1047, 98 L.Ed.2d 1010 (1988) (use of an informant who became involved in robbery in spite of instructions otherwise does not prohibit prosecution). Furthermore, Streeter pleaded guilty and does not challenge that plea. Therefore, the government's conduct, as it might relate to a violation of due process or a defense of entrapment, is no longer material to his guilt. We see no warrant for the argument that governmental or prosecutorial misconduct should mitigate the sentence of an admittedly guilty defendant.