Opinion ID: 548379
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Special offense characteristics

Text: 22 Mourning argued before the district court that the Sentencing Commission exceeded its authority by making knowledge a factor in the specific offense characteristics under section 2S1.3(b)(1). He does not pursue this issue on appeal. Instead, he asserts again that there was no evidence that the laundered dollars were criminally derived. He also may be challenging the finding of knowledge on his part by the district court. However, the same facts which support fixing the base offense level at 13 support the five-level enhancement for this special offense characteristic. The uncontested portions of the PSI support not only the criminal derivation of the funds, but also his knowledge thereof. 23 This sort of factual determination must be objected to at sentencing if it is to be an issue on appeal. Mourning could have objected and allowed the district court to make a reviewable finding of fact. In a plea bargain case, this court will not review challenges to the factual basis of a guideline's applicability which has not been preserved by objection in the district court.