Opinion ID: 195103
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Cocaine Quantity

Text: 15 Arismendy's first argument is that the sentencing court erroneously relied on Verona's testimony in determining the amount of cocaine involved in the conspiracy because Verona offered uncorroborated and self-contradictory testimony in an effort to receive favorable treatment from the government. We reject this contention. 16 Arismendy's counsel forthrightly conceded at oral argument that if Verona's testimony were believed, his claim would collapse. Given this concession, we easily conclude that the district court did not err in its drug quantity determination. The record shows unequivocally that after considering the evidence and rejecting the same arguments now raised on appeal, the court found Verona's testimony to be credible. In the absence of clear error, such assessments are exclusively within the province of the sentencing court. We find no such error here. Cf. id. at 508 (where there is more than one plausible view of the circumstances, the sentencing court's choice among supportable alternatives cannot be clearly erroneous).