Opinion ID: 658330
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Little's Sentence

Text: 111 Little's total offense level of 40, based on his distribution of between 50 and 150 kilograms of cocaine, and on a four-level increase for his role in the offense. Specifically, Little was held responsible--as were Lloyd and Huffman--only for distribution of the cocaine and crack seized during raids on the houses linked to the conspirators or purchased in undercover controlled buys from members of the conspiracy, and not for amounts under negotiation. These amounts totalled 511 grams of crack, which the applicable statute and sentencing guideline mandate be treated as 5110 grams of cocaine, and 1,093 grams of powder cocaine; the total is thus equivalent to 62 kilograms of cocaine. Little's applicable criminal history category was II. The resulting imprisonment range was 324 to 405 months, but mandatory minima for the 924(c)(1) counts (3 and 6) of five and twenty years resulted in a total range of 624 to 705 months. The district court sentenced him to an imprisonment term of 660 months. 112 Little first argues 30 that the base offense level used in the PSR was incorrect, because the calculation included a large quantity of crack never shown to have any connection with him. A district court's determination of the quantity of drugs used to compute a defendant's sentence is a finding of fact that should not be rejected unless clearly erroneous. United States v. Wilson, 954 F.2d 374, 376 (6th Cir.1992). The finding must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Hodges, 935 F.2d 766, 774 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 251, 116 L.Ed.2d 206, and cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 317, 116 L.Ed.2d 259 (1991). A member of a conspiracy is responsible for the total amount of cocaine involved in the conspiracy, including other conspirators' conduct, only if that conduct was reasonably foreseeable to him and in furtherance of the execution of the jointly undertaken criminal activity. United States v. Jenkins, 4 F.3d 1338, 1345 (6th Cir.1993); see United States v. Williams, 962 F.2d 1218 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 264, 121 L.Ed.2d 194 (1992). Under this standard, we find it plainly proper to have held Little accountable for the amounts distributed by him and his coconspirators over the course of the conspiracy. Here, it is apparent that the scope of the criminal activity jointly undertaken by Little, Lloyd, and Huffman was the same as the scope of the entire conspiracy. Cf. United States v. Okayfor, 996 F.2d 116, 120-21 (6th Cir.1993). All three conspirators were shown to have been involved in the conspiracy from its inception. All three were, moreover, shown to have been active participants throughout the conspiracy. In short, Little can make no persuasive argument that these amounts were not reasonably foreseeable to him, nor that the amounts were not distributed in furtherance of the jointly undertaken criminal activity. 31 113 Little's next argument, however, presents a serious challenge to the validity of his sentence. Under 21 U.S.C. Sec. 860(b), a defendant's second conviction for distribution near a school merits an increased maximum sentence. The statute does not purport to increase the minimum sentence, however, and the mandatory minimum sentence applicable to Little, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a), was twenty years. Little argues that the district court, apparently misled by an erroneous PSR, believed that the mandatory minimum sentence was thirty years. 114 Our review of the record confirms Little's assertion. At the sentencing hearing, Little's attorney objected to the PSR's finding that Little was subject to a thirty-year mandatory minimum: 115 One matter that I don't think is discussed by any of the other sentences is the presentence report indicated there was minimum term of 30 years on count , which was a schoolyard count as to my client. 116 The AUSA then conceded that [i]t's my understanding that the schoolyard count enhances the maximum, and it really doesn't affect anything for today's purposes. The court nonetheless exhibited confusion: 117 THE COURT: Well, it does--it does result in a net increase. 118 [AUSA]: The schoolyard-- 119 THE COURT: From 324 to 360 months. But go ahead. 120 Instead of then continuing to argue this point, Little's attorney simply moved on to his next argument. On the judgment imposing Little's sentence, the court noted that [t]he guidelines require the sentence imposed, at a minimum, thus indicating that the court continued to believe that thirty years was the statutory minimum. 121 The government argues that Little waived any argument about the thirty-year sentence by failing to clarify his argument to the district court, and that because this sentence falls within the permissible range, therefore, it should be affirmed. We disagree. It is apparent from the transcript and from the notations on the judgment that the district judge did not understand that she had discretion to sentence Little to less than thirty years on count 2. This court has the authority to review a district court's mistaken belief that it lacks discretion. See United States v. Dellinger, 986 F.2d 1042, 1044 (6th Cir.1993); United States v. Spedalieri, 910 F.2d 707, 710 (10th Cir.1990). We will vacate Little's sentence and remand for resentencing, to allow the district court to sentence Little in consideration of the fact that he is not statutorily required to serve a thirty-year minimum term on count 2.B. Lloyd's Sentence 122 The district court sentenced Lloyd to 188 months of imprisonment on counts 1, 11, 12, and 17, to be served concurrently, and 60 months on count 13, to be served consecutively to the other terms, for a total of 248 months. On appeal, Lloyd argues that the different statutory sentencing treatment of crack and cocaine is unconstitutional. He contends it offends the principle of equal protection and substantive due process. 123 A defendant's challenge to his sentence on constitutional grounds presents a question of law over which this court should exercise de novo review. Cf. United States v. Knipp, 963 F.2d 839, 843 (6th Cir.1992). 124 This court has upheld on many occasions the constitutional validity of the statutory scheme requiring that 1 gram of crack is treated for sentencing purposes as if it were 100 grams of cocaine. Most recently, in United States v. Tinker, 985 F.2d 241 (6th Cir.1992), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 1872, 123 L.Ed.2d 491 (1993), this court wrote as follows: 125 Defendant argues that treating cocaine base as equal to 100 times the same cocaine amount for sentencing purposes violates due process and equal protection. These constitutional challenges are meritless. United States v. Williams, 962 F.2d 1218, 1227-28 (6th Cir.1992); United States v. Pickett, 941 F.2d 411, 418 (6th Cir.1991). Congress's act was sufficiently rational to meet the demands of substantive due process. .... Moreover, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(b) and the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which treat one gram of crack as the equivalent of 100 grams of cocaine, do not violate equal protection. Williams, 962 F.2d at 1227-28 (joining every circuit which has addressed this issue). 126 Id. at 242 (footnote omitted). We conclude that Tinker and the cases it cites leave no room for debate on this issue. The sentencing scheme of which Lloyd complains simply does not violate constitutional dictates. 32 We will therefore affirm Lloyd's sentence. C. Huffman's Sentence 127 At Huffman's sentencing hearing, he contended that he was entitled to a reduction in his offense level because of his minor role in the offense. The district court rejected the argument, and sentenced him to a total of 540 months. 128 On appeal, Huffman argues that the district court erred in not reducing his offense level by two points because of his minor role in the offense. The minor participant reduction is available only to a party who is less culpable than most other participants and substantially less culpable than the average participant. U.S.S.G. Sec. 3B1.2, comment. (n. 3) & (backg'd.). The culpability determination is heavily dependent upon the facts, id., and the defendant has the burden of proving mitigating factors by a preponderance of the evidence. Perry, 908 F.2d 56 at 58. We therefore review a district court's determination of a defendant's role in the offense only for clear error. Williams, 962 F.2d at 1226. The evidence showed that Huffman was not substantially less culpable than the other conspirators. He was therefore not entitled to a two-point reduction, and the district court's sentencing determination should stand. D. Taylor's Sentence 129 Taylor was assigned a base offense level of 32 for count 9, based on distribution of 60.86 grams of cocaine, and received a two-level increase for his role in the offense. His total offense level was thus 34, and his criminal history category was II. Including the mandatory minimum sentence for his 924(c)(1) conviction, his imprisonment range was 228 to 270 months. He received a total imprisonment term of 228 months. 130 At sentencing, Taylor objected to the amount of drugs charged to him as relevant conduct, and took the position that he was accountable only for the 1.69 grams that he was convicted of distributing under count 9. The government took the position that although he had earlier been acquitted of two of the underlying substantive charges, the court could nonetheless include the approximately 59 grams of crack related to those counts. The court found as follows: 131 The Court does accept the government's position on this issue and finds that the 60 grams are attributable to the defendant. 132 The evidence was offered at trial. It's true, the jury found there was no conviction beyond reasonable doubt, but the Court finds by a preponderance that 60 grams should be attributed there. 133 On appeal, Taylor renews this argument, and contends that principles of double jeopardy preclude his being held accountable for amounts of which he was acquitted. Because he presents a legal challenge to the district court's determination of the amount of drugs attributable to him, we exercise de novo review. See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3742(e); see also United States v. Garner, 940 F.2d 172, 174 (6th Cir.1991). 134 This court has accepted the principle that the relevant conduct system now makes acquittal by the jury on some counts irrelevant to the sentence imposed for the convicted offense. United States v. Silverman, 976 F.2d 1502, 1527 (6th Cir.1992) (en banc) (Merritt, C.J., dissenting), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 1595, 123 L.Ed.2d 159 (1993). Most recently, this court wrote that [t]here is no merit to [the defendant's] contention that because he was acquitted on the substantive count involving the mason jar of crack cocaine, that cocaine should not have been included in the total amount of cocaine attributable to him. United States v. Jenkins, 4 F.3d at 1344 (6th Cir.1993) (citing United States v. Moreno, 933 F.2d 362, 374 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 265, 116 L.Ed.2d 218 (1991)). The rationale supporting these decisions is that in order to convict at trial, the government bears the burden of proving the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the burden of proof at sentencing is the lesser preponderance of evidence standard. Moreno, 933 F.2d at 374. Thus, acquittal does not require the district court to ignore otherwise relevant conduct, 33 and Taylor's argument is unavailing. We therefore affirm his sentence.